11:00pm: The Giants are not releasing Burrell, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
9:37pm: The Giants are expected to release Pat Burrell to create roster space for Carlos Beltran, according to CSNBayArea.com. San Francisco will option Brandon Belt to Triple-A to create space on the active roster for Beltran, who was acquired for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler earlier today.
Burrell, 34, re-signed in San Francisco for $1MM after a strong second half to the 2010 season helped carry the Giants to the World Series. Burrell hit .266/.364/.509 with 18 homers last year, but his production has fallen off in 2011. The former first overall pick has a .233/.342/.419 line with seven homers this season. If the Giants release him, he'll be available for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum, just as he was a year ago.
