Mesa, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa was released from a hospital Saturday evening after being taken there by ambulance for an irregular heartbeat he experienced during spring training drills.

DeRosa was sitting up on a stretcher as he was wheeled out of the Fitch Park complex around midday. Some of his teammates were still on the field winding up a day of workouts.

"Mark's doing fine," manager Lou Piniella said shortly after practice ended. "He came in with a rapid heartbeat from doing the things on the field and was having a little trouble breathing, so they called in the medical team.

"He's completely stable, but better be safe than sorry. With the irregular heartbeat and so forth, they sent him to the hospital to test him and evaluate him. But he's fine."

A team spokesman said DeRosa felt faint but never lost consciousness. Piniella said DeRosa had experienced irregular heartbeats previously.

"I talked to him. He was a little nervous and outside of that he's OK," Piniella said.

Team trainer Mark O'Neal accompanied DeRosa to the hospital.

"We'll find out what the medical staff or doctor at the hospital tells us to do," Piniella said. "I don't expect this to be serious and don't expect it to be too long."

A club spokesman said the medical team was brought in so DeRosa could be hooked up to an EKG first and then be moved to the hospital for further testing. A team doctor was at the complex.

Shortstop Ryan Theriot said DeRosa started to have a problem while taking grounders Saturday.

"It wasn't any one particular thing," Theriot said. "It started to speed up on him, and I think he started to get a little worried.

"He was fine throughout the whole thing," Theriot said. "I think it was just one of those deals, more scared than anything. ... I know he was joking around inside [the complex] before he left. Once he got off the field, he was much better."

DeRosa, who will turn 33 on Feb. 26, batted .293 with 10 homers and 72 RBIs last season, his first with the Cubs after signing a three-year, $13 million contract. He also hit .317 with runners in scoring position.

DeRosa was the Cubs' most versatile player. He appeared in 93 games at second base, where he started 88 times; 37 games at third base; one at shortstop; 22 games in right field; one in left field; and nine at first. He also batted in every spot in the batting order except leadoff.

Last June in Texas, DeRosa had to be removed from a game after he suffered from an ocular migraine and lost partial vision in his left eye. It is believed he had not experienced any heart problems while with the Cubs before Saturday.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry suffered from a heart irregularity during the winter meetings in December 2006 and signed free agent Ted Lilly while hooked up to an EKG machine. He had an angioplasty, became more health-conscious and has experienced no known problems since.

Piniella said he didn't know when DeRosa would get back on the field.

"It's scary," Piniella said. "Anytime it has something to do with the heart, obviously, you worry about it. But look, everyone was pretty well assured that he's going to be just fine."