SAN FRANCISCO – Omar Vizquel, the 11-time Gold Glove shortstop who will be looking for work this winter, is recovering from laser surgery on his right eye.

“All went well,” Vizquel said in an e-mail.

He had the procedure last week once the season ended, then had to wait several days as the eye healed before returning to his home in the Seattle area.

The 41-year-old Vizquel played the past four seasons for San Francisco but Giants general manager Brian Sabean said after the season ended there was “zero” chance of bringing him back. The Giants are committed to a youth movement and went with speedy rookie Emmanuel Burriss at shortstop most of the time in the season's second half. Vizquel handled himself well through the demotion and turned his attention on helping teach the young infielders.

But he's ready to get another shot, somewhere.

“There's no doubt in my mind that I can still play,” he said. “I want to play, and that's what I'm going to do.”

Vizquel got a late start to the year after needing arthroscopic left knee surgery during spring training. He was limited to 92 games – his fewest since playing 64 in 2003 for the Cleveland Indians, the second-to-last year of his 11-season tenure there. Vizquel batted .222 with 23 RBIs, 10 doubles and a triple in 2008.

He received a warm ovation in his final game for the Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 28, and manager Bruce Bochy let him take his position on the field in the team's waterfront ballpark in the top of the sixth inning before replacing him with Ivan Ochoa.

Vizquel's 2,654 games at shortstop are a major league record. He passed Venezuelan countryman and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio's mark of 2,583 in May. The 74-year-old Aparicio played 18 seasons from 1956-1973.

“It's been an emotional rollercoaster for me, but I'm glad that I handled it OK,” Vizquel said of this past season. “I put myself into the shoes of the guys who do these kinds of (backup) jobs, and it made me realize how lucky we are, how fortunate we are, to play every day and to have the opportunity to be on the 25-man roster in the big leagues. It's a huge privilege for any player.”

Vizquel signed a $5.3 million, one-year contract last November that included a club option, but the Giants didn't re-sign him. Sabean said he met with Vizquel at the end of the season to formally part ways, as tough as it was to do for both parties.

“I think he made the decision that he knew he could play and wanted to for another year,” Sabean said. “But he also saw this situation for what it was because of the kids coming, and specifically a guy like Burriss.”