PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks have released catcher Henry Blanco from his minor league contract and added him to the team's major league coaching staff.
Blanco did not officially retire after trying to make Arizona's roster in spring training.
The 42-year-old player appeared in 971 games over 16 major league seasons with 11 teams -- the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Minnesota, the Chicago Cubs, San Diego, the New York Mets, Arizona, Toronto and Seattle.
He had a career .223 batting average with 72 home runs and 298 RBIs. He threw out 40.49 percent of attempted base stealers.
