San Diego Padres send down struggling Robinson Cano, who opts to become a free agent

The San Diego Padres optioned struggling infielder Robinson Cano to Triple-A El Paso on Thursday and the veteran declined the assignment to become a free agent, the team said.

The Padres signed the eight-time All-Star to a deal May 13 after he was designated for assignment by the New York Mets.

In 12 games with San Diego, Cano was 3-for-33 (.091) with no home runs and one RBI. The 39-year-old struck out 10 times and walked once.

"He had a pretty good at-bat [Wednesday] and it looked like he might have a chance [to turn things around],'' manager Bob Melvin said after his team's 5-4 loss to theMilwaukee Brewerson Thursday. "But this is a business at times. We're a little down offensively and we're trying to create a little more production in our lineup."

Cano sat out last season while serving his second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. He has a .301 career batting average with 2,635 hits, 335 home runs and 1,306 RBIs in 17 seasons.

In a corresponding move, San Diego selected veteran outfielder Nomar Mazara from El Paso.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.