TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Giants made two roster moves Wednesday as they began the final phase of paring their roster down to 25 players for Opening Day. Right-handed pitcher Al Levine and left-handed pitcher Wayne Franklin were both released. Levine had requested his release from the Giants.

Levine is a veteran of nine big league seasons with the White Sox, Rangers, Angels, Devil Rays, Royals, Blue Jays, and Tigers. He has a 24-33 career record, with all but seven of his 407 appearances coming in relief. He has complied a 3.85 ERA.

"I'm kind of disappointed that he's leaving, because he's such a good pitcher and such a nice person, too," said manager Felipe Alou.

Levine posted a perfect spring with the Giants, making nine appearances and yielding no runs as a non-roster invitee to camp. He held opponents to a .156 batting average, owned a share of the team lead with three Cactus League wins and had a club-best two saves. But he was still unlikely to break camp with the club on Opening Day.

"They're both victims of the numbers we have in camp," general manager Brian Sabean said. "Levine's performance was indicative of him having the chance to make the club, but with guaranteed contracts and our minor league depth, it's very difficult to get somebody on the team like that when you have those kind of other situations."

Levine requested an early release, giving him a chance to hook up with another team before waiting for the Opening Day roster to be finalized.

"He had a chance to come to us on or before April 5," Sabean said. "He did it today for his own reasons, I would suspect to get out there as soon as possible as a free player."

Franklin has a 5.47 ERA over five big league seasons with Houston, Milwaukee, and San Francisco, where he appeared in 43 games in 2004, including two starts. He struggled in Spring Training, posting a 9.39 ERA in eight relief appearances, and opposing batters hit him at a .310 clip.

"I'm sure he didn't perform as well as he wanted to or expected to, but that wasn't a deciding factor," Sabean said. "(It was) more being realistic with him about the situation. I think once he got to camp he probably saw the handwriting on the wall with the numbers.

"The tough thing is with guys like him and Levine you can't guarantee how and when they're going to be called up if they go to Triple-A," Sabean said. "You can't make those kinds of promises, especially when we have pitching depth. They've got Major League experience, and the fact that they can go to another situation maybe with less depth, they might have a chance to be back in the big leagues faster."

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Game time: Jason Schmidt had a decent tuneup in his last start before Opening Day, holding the Angels to two runs in four innings Wednesday.

"Something felt normal in the fourth inning," Schmidt said. "I was able to throw the ball inside a little bit more, which I haven't been able to do at all to lefties, and that started coming there. I found myself thinking along with the hitters, which I hadn't done all spring and really wasn't trying to. In the fourth inning I just kind of started paying a little more attention. Next one's for real."

While younger pitchers often have the opposite challenge in spring, trying to calm down and rein in their emotions, veterans like Schmidt sometimes have trouble simulating the intensity they bring to regular-season games.

"I really think everything's going to be a whole lot different [in San Francisco] than it is down here," Schmidt said. "When I get in a real game the adrenaline's going to be pumping, the concentration level's going to be a little bit higher. I really haven't felt any adrenaline out there this whole spring, which is really odd. The concentration just hasn't been there, so I just think I need to get in a real game, get a little crowd out there, something that's really meaningful. Quit working on things here and there, quit worrying about what's working, what's not working. Go out when every out actually means something. That's the only way we're going to get it going."

Schmidt pitched through traffic each inning, giving up eight hits and stranding runners on second and third with no outs in the third inning and a man on third with two outs in the fourth inning.

"He was using mostly his fastball today," Alou said. "And when he got in trouble, then he pitched. That's when he struck out some guys with men on. He had a good changeup and some good breaking balls. He's ready to go."

500 club: Brian Dallimore finished the Cactus League season with an even .500 batting average (25-for-50). He entered Wednesday's play third in the Cactus League in hitting and first in on-base percentage with a .571 mark.

"He's going to be the MVP of the Cactus League," said Alou, joking about the mythical award. "When is the voting going to take place?"

Cactus finale: The Giants finished the Cactus League season with a 17-11-1 record, slipping into second place a game behind the Angels. The team has posted its first winning exhibition season since 1997, when it went 18-5.

The Giants packed up their belongings Wednesday morning and headed home immediately following the game. Most of the starters had relatively short outings, coming out by the fifth inning.

"I took my people out of there quick, those regulars," Alou said. "There's a lot of boxes being lifted today and suitcases and stuff like that. I'm glad it's over here. Go and settle down at home and get ready for [SBC Park]."

Coming up: Lefty Kirk Rueter makes his final spring start Thursday, facing the A's in a 7:15 p.m. PT game at SBC Park. Reuter is 2-2 in spring games, and his 3.15 ERA tops all Giants starters.