The Braves announced Thursday that outfielder José Azócar has been designated for assignment. His roster spot goes to fellow righty-swinging outfielder Eli White, who has been reinstated from the paternity list.
Azócar, 30, was only selected to the 40-man roster Monday when White went on the paternity list. He went hitless in two plate appearances during this, his third Braves stint of the season. He was also up with the big league club for two separate stints in May. He’s tallied 18 plate appearances and gone 6-for-17 with a pair of doubles and a walk, leading to an impressive-looking .353/.389/.471 slash. Taking a broader look at Azócar’s career, however, reveals a lifetime .249/.294/.326 batting line in 436 trips to the plate.
That career output in the majors is a close facsimile of Azócar’s performance in Triple-A thus far in 2026. He’s stepped to the plate 228 times with Atlanta’s Triple-A club in Gwinnett and turned in a tepid .243/.295/.343 batting line.
Azócar is a quintessential speed-and-defense fourth outfielder. He’s lost a step since his 2022 debut, falling from 96th percentile sprint speed (29.4 ft/sec) to “only” 81st percentile sprint speed in 2026 (28.4 ft/sec). He’s still a well above-average runner, clearly, and both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average give him positive grades at all three outfield spots in his big league career. It’s a similar skill set to that of White, but White currently has the top sprint speed in all of baseball (30.3 ft/sec) and accordingly has even stronger defensive grades across the three outfield positions.
Atlanta has five days to trade Azócar or place him on outright or release waivers. The waiver process would add another 48 hours, so if they wait until the fifth day, his DFA will take a week to process. Given Azócar’s journeyman status and tough showing in Gwinnett, they’ll probably start the waiver process sooner than later. Azócar cleared waivers following each of his past two DFAs. He then briefly elected free agency before quickly re-signing a minor league deal with Atlanta each time.
