ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Fred McGriff was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday, ending his bid to reach 500 career home runs with his hometown team.

The 40-year-old first baseman was designated for assignment on July 17 after batting .181 with two homers and seven RBIs in 27 games.

McGriff has 493 career home runs. He signed a minor league contract in February, hoping to show enough during spring training that a major league team would give him an opportunity to continue his quest for 500.

He didn’t begin the season with the Devil Rays, but joined them on May 28 for his second stint with the team. He also played in Tampa Bay from 1998-2001 and is the club’s all-time leader in home runs (99), RBIs (359), runs scored (277), hits (603) and games played (577).