OAKLAND -- If this is it for Lorenzo Cain, what a career it was -- and what a ride he took Royals fans on during those championship-winning years.

Cain was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Saturday, the day the 36-year-old reached 10 years of Major League service time. While Cain did not tell reporters his next steps and whether that would include retirement, everything seemed to indicate the end of a career was coming.

“To say that I’ve played 10-plus years in The Show, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Cain told Brewers reporters in Cincinnati. "It’s been a great ride for me, a fun ride. I put a lot of work in. I put this body through a lot through the years. At the same time, I think the body is ready to rest a little bit, for sure."

That ride included seven seasons in Kansas City, helping the Royals reach the World Series in 2014 and win it all in ‘15. The trade that brought Cain to Kansas City might go down as one of the best in franchise history. On Dec. 19, 2010, the Royals traded ace Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt to Milwaukee in exchange for Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi.

Greinke helped the Brewers win their first division title in 29 years the following season. Cain and Escobar were key parts of the Royals’ postseason years, and the club flipped Odorizzi two years later for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis in a deal with the Rays.

Shields anchored the Royals’ rotation in 2013 and ’14. Davis, of course, was part of Kansas City’s vaunted bullpen in 2014 and ’15.

“When we made that trade, we were always trying to acquire players up the middle,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We were good behind the plate with [catcher Salvador Perez], but we needed a shortstop and center fielder. To get two key pieces like that to put in the middle of guys on the corners, it was a nice way to finish it off. It was a really impactful trade. Maybe the most impactful in our history.”

Cain hit .289/.342/.421 in seven seasons for the Royals. He was an All-Star and finished third in the American League MVP vote in 2015, joining George Brett as the only Royals to win a World Series and finish in the top three of MVP voting with the club.

“You looked at his swing, and there were deficiencies, but his pitch selection made his swing work,” Picollo said. “And I think he just grew with confidence. You could see it happening. There was never a moment that was too big for him, he loved the big stage, he performed there. He learned to manage his body really well, because he played hard, and that was a key part of this. Our medical staff and Lorenzo did a tremendous job figuring that out. But he loved it. He loved the stage and he loved to perform in big games.”

Cain, an undeniable leader with an outgoing personality, was a vital contributor for the Royals. He made jaw-dropping catches in center field, stole 120 bases, hit 56 home runs. His three-run double in extra innings broke open the final game of the 2015 World Series, giving the Royals their first title in 30 years.

But his legacy is probably scoring the decisive run in the 2015 ALCS, when Eric Hosmer laced a ball down the right-field line and Cain was off and running. Third-base coach Mike Jirschele waved Cain home, and that run propelled the Royals to the World Series.

“The scoring from first, that’s sort of the signature moment,” Picollo said. “There were plays in the outfield he made that were tremendous. But that one baserunning play, it was so well executed, and it’s still something to this day that we show our Minor League players on a regular basis. The importance of thinking about scoring when a ball is put in play.

“It’s a model play for us.”

The Brewers have 10 days to work out a trade, or another team could claim Cain -- if he decides to keep playing.

"It’s a wait and see approach," Cain said. "You take a day or two, kind of see where we’re at. Whatever the decision is, maybe to sign with another team or to call it quits altogether, either or, I'll talk to the family, sit down have a conversation with them.”