Braves Place Mike Yastrzemski On 10-Day Injured List
The Braves announced five roster moves, including Mike Yastrzemski‘s placement on the 10-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. Atlanta also optioned right-hander James Karinchak to Triple-A Gwinnett, while calling up right-hander Owen Murphy and outfielder Brewer Hicklen to fill the two open spots on the active roster. Jose Azocar was also outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to Gwinnett, as the outfielder has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment two days ago.
Yastrzemski came to Atlanta last December on a two-year free agent deal worth $23MM in guaranteed money, but the veteran outfielder has hit only .230/.321/.365 with six home runs over 262 plate appearances. This production translates to just a 92 wRC+, as the left-handed hitting Yaz has a modest .707 OPS in 227 PA against right-handed pitching.
Yastrzemski did enjoy a red-hot three-week stretch for most of May before his bat went cold again, and the outfielder had started hitting again in recent days before this IL trip. The injury likely occurred yesterday, as Yaz was the starting right fielder in the Braves’ 2-1 loss to the Cardinals but was replaced in the field by Eli White going into the bottom of the eighth.
While Yastrzemski has been inconsistent, his absence further thins out a Braves outfield that is still without Ronald Acuna Jr. White and Hicklen could share right field duties in the interim, and with the All-Star break looming, Yaz won’t miss much game time if he misses just the minimum 10 days. Acuna is also expected to soon start a minor league rehab assignment, so it might not be long before Atlanta’s outfield is back to more or less full strength. Still, the Braves are expected to explore the outfield market heading into the trade deadline, perhaps for at least a righty bat who can work with Yastrzemski as a platoon partner.
Azocar joins Andrew McCutchen, Luke Williams, Ben Gamel, and a few other outfield-capable players at Triple-A who aren’t on the 40-man roster, plus DaShawn Keirsey Jr. is on the 40-man roster. This depth will also surely factor into how heavily the Braves may focus on the outfield at the deadline.
This is the third time Azocar has been outrighted off Atlanta’s 40-man roster this season, and the previous two instances saw Azocar decline the outright in favor of free agency, and then quickly re-sign. The Braves have used this tactic with a few veteran players in recent years, with the players agreeing to stick around as essentially an experienced taxi squad in Gwinnett. It seems likely that Azocar will elect free agency again, and probably return to the Braves on another fresh minor league deal.
Braves Designate José Azócar For Assignment
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.
Braves Select José Azócar, Designate Jair Camargo For Assignment
The Braves announced that outfielder Eli White has been placed on the paternity list. Fellow outfielder José Azócar has been selected to take his place on the active roster. To open a 40-man spot for Azócar, catcher Jair Camargo has been designated for assignment.
Azócar, 30, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason. This is the third time this year he has been added to the roster. The first two were to cover for injuries to other outfielders. In both instances, Azócar was later bumped off the roster. Since he is out of options, he was designated for assignment. He then cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed with the club on a new minor league deal.
Around the transactions, Azócar got into nine games and put up a .333/.375/.467 line. Despite that strong showing, Atlanta likely assumed he couldn’t keep it going over a larger timeline. Those numbers were aided by a huge .417 batting average on balls in play in that small sample. Azócar has a less impressive .248/.293/.325 line in his career and is hitting just .243/.295/.343 in Triple-A this year.
Though he shouldn’t be expected to hit like he did with the big league club earlier this year, he can be serviceable in other ways. In 1,109 outfield innings in his career, he has been credited with two Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average. Statcast ranks his sprint speed in the 80th percentile this year. He should give the club a speed-and-defense bench outfielder for now. Since he is out of options, it’s possible he is designated for assignment yet again when White returns from the paternity list.
Camargo, 27, also started this year with the club in a non-roster capacity. He had his contract selected last month when Atlanta was playing a doubleheader. Drake Baldwin caught the first game and served as the designated hitter in the second. Sandy León caught the second contest with Camargo on the bench, though Camargo did enter the game and went one for two with a double. He was optioned back to Triple-A the next day and has been there since.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take as long as five days for trade talks, though they could also put him on waivers sooner than that if they so choose.
Camargo’s big league track record is quite small. In addition to the one aforementioned game this year, he got into five games with the Twins in 2024. He required Tommy John surgery in 2025 and was released, which allowed Atlanta to sign him. He hasn’t hit much in the minors, with a combined .219/.281/.365 line dating back to the start of 2024, but has a solid defensive reputation.
If he clears waivers, he could stick with the club as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have a previous career outright nor does he have three years of big league service time, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Braves Re-Sign José Azócar To Minor League Deal
The Braves have re-signed outfielder José Azócar to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He is in tonight’s lineup, batting seventh and playing left field.
Atlanta clearly values Azócar as a potential bench player or depth piece. Since he is out of options, he has been repeatedly shuffled on and off the roster this year. The two sides agreed to a minor league deal in the offseason. Twice this year, he has been selected to the roster and been designated for assignment shortly thereafter. In both cases, he cleared waivers, elected free agency and then re-signed on a new minor league deal.
For the club, they effectively get an extra roster spot for added outfield depth, with Azócar giving them a speed-and-defense guy. He has 83rd percentile sprint speed this year, per Statcast, and has been even higher in previous seasons. He has received strong grades for his glovework at all three positions.
His offense is less impressive on the whole. He has a big .333/.375/.467 line this year but in a small sample of just 16 plate appearances. In his career, he has a .248/.293/.325 line in 434 appearances. He’s a useful player who has allowed the club to cover for injuries to guys like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Eli White.
For Azócar, it’s probably not his preference to be riding this transactions carousel, but at least he has a job and has gotten some sporadic big league pay and service time. Based on the fact that he has cleared waivers multiple times this season, no other club is willing to give him a roster spot, so it’s not as though he has significantly better opportunities elsewhere. He’ll rejoin the Stripers to get reps as he waits for the call back to the big leagues.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
José Azócar Elects Free Agency
José Azócar elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The Braves designated the outfielder for assignment on Wednesday when Eli White returned from a concussion.
Azócar has had two brief stints on Atlanta’s roster this season. He has appeared in nine games, going 5-15 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base. The 30-year-old Venezuela native is a career .248/.293/.325 hitter over 434 plate appearances, most of which came with the Padres between 2022-23.
Around the MLB calls, Azócar has had a solid start to the year with Triple-A Gwinnett. He’s batting .270/.348/.420 with a couple homers and eight steals in 10 tries over 30 minor league games. Azócar has played all three outfield spots and has plus speed off the bench.
There’s a good chance he’ll circle back to the Braves on a minor league deal in the next couple days. Azócar also elected free agency after a DFA on May 8, only to re-sign three days later. He’s out of options and needs to go through waivers each time the Braves want to send him down after a stint on MLB roster.
Braves Designate José Azócar For Assignment
The Braves announced that outfielder Eli White has been reinstated from the ten-day injured list. Fellow outfielder José Azócar has been designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Azócar, 30, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason. He was added to the roster in May when Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the injured list. A few days later, they decided to promote infielder Jim Jarvis and move Mauricio Dubón to the outfield mix. Since Azócar is out of options, he was bumped off the 40-man. After clearing waivers, he quickly re-signed and then got added back to the roster in the wake of White hitting the IL.
Around those transactions, Azócar has put up good numbers. He has a .333/.375/.467 slash line but he surely wasn’t going to maintain that kind of production. He put up that line in a tiny sample of 16 plate appearances with a huge .417 batting average on balls in play. That’s nowhere near his career track record, which consists of 434 plate appearances with a .248/.293/.325 slash line.
Broadly speaking, Azócar is a glove-first depth outfielder. He gets good reviews for his defense and can steal a base from time to time but his offense has mostly been subpar. Atlanta clearly still views him that way and hasn’t been swayed by a few extra batted balls finding holes in the past few weeks.
Azócar now heads to DFA limbo again. Atlanta can take some time to explore trade interest but it’s possible he ends up back on waivers and clears, like he did a few weeks back, though it’s also possible a team with some recent injury trouble has a need for an extra outfielder and puts in a claim. If Azócar does clear again, he has the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. That’s the way things played out earlier this month but Atlanta quickly re-signed him to a new minors deal.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Sean Murphy To Miss Eight Weeks With Finger Fracture
3:35pm: Murphy will miss at least eight weeks due to his fracture, Weiss tells Jesús Cano of The Athletic.
12:08pm: The Braves announced that catcher Sean Murphy has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 11th, with a fractured left middle finger. Fellow catcher Sandy León was signed to a big league deal to replace Murphy on the roster. The club also selected the contract of outfielder José Azócar and optioned infielder Jim Jarvis. They had two 40-man vacancies, which have now been filled by these moves.
Murphy’s injury appears to stem from a catcher’s interference plan in Sunday’s game. Hyeseong Kim swung at a pitch and made contact with Murphy’s glove, as seen in this video from MLB.com. After the game, manager Walt Weiss told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that Murphy would be going for X-rays but would probably be fine. It now seems that a fracture has been discovered, so Murphy will head to the IL.
It’s unclear how long Murphy will be out of action but it’s a frustrating setback nonetheless. Injuries have been a recurring theme for him in recent seasons. He was limited to fewer than 95 games in both 2024 and 2025 due to various ailments. One persistent issue has been hip problems, which eventually led to surgery in September of last year. He was rehabbing from that surgery until about a week ago. Now after just four games, he’s back on the shelf.
While Murphy was on the IL earlier, Atlanta used a catching tandem of Drake Baldwin and Jonah Heim. When Murphy was reinstated earlier this month, Heim was designated for assignment and then traded to the Athletics. Atlanta still has Baldwin but now has no Heim and will be without Murphy for a while, so they had to get a bit creative in finding a new backup.
León, 37, is a glove-first veteran journeyman. He began this year with Triple-A Gwinnett but slashed .118/.268/.118 in ten games and was released. He then signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League. He got into ten games for that club, hitting .143/.273/.143, before Atlanta came calling again.
It’s not likely that León will provide much with the bat. He has a career line of .207/.275/.311. From 2017 to the present, it’s an even slimmer .187/.256/.289 line. But he has nonetheless been able to carve out a lengthy career due to his strong reputation when it comes to the other facets of being a catcher, namely his defense.
He’ll back up Baldwin while Murphy is on the shelf. The club also has Jair Camargo and Chadwick Tromp in the system on minor league deals. They may keep their eyes out for external options. For instance, Austin Wynns was designated for assignment by the A’s last week and is still in DFA limbo.
Azócar, 30, was added to the roster for a few days earlier this month. Atlanta bumped him off when they called up Jarvis about a week ago. Azócar cleared waivers but quickly returned to the club on a new minor league deal and is now back on the big league roster. Since Jarvis is being sent out, it’s effectively a reversal of the transaction from last week.
Presumably, that quick change is due to developments elsewhere in the position player mix. Yesterday, the club reinstated infielder Ha-Seong Kim from the IL. In a corresponding move, outfielder Eli White hit the concussion IL. Kim’s return meant that they effectively had three bench infielders in Jorge Mateo, Kyle Farmer and Jarvis. Meanwhile, White’s IL placement left them shorthanded in the outfield.
Azócar has only hit .243/.288/.318 in his career but is a strong defender and baserunner. With Ronald Acuña Jr. on the IL, Atlanta should have a regular outfield of Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón, with Azócar backing up that group. Azócar is out of options, which could potentially lead to him being designated for assignment again when guys come off the IL.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Braves, Jose Azocar Agree To Minor League Deal
The Braves and outfielder Jose Azocar are reuniting on a new minor league deal, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’d previously been designated for assignment by Atlanta and briefly elected free agency after clearing waivers.
Azocar, 30 today, went hitless in his only two plate appearances with Atlanta (and in his lone Braves plate appearance last season as well). He’s a career .243/.288/.318 hitter in 420 big league plate appearances. Azocar has swiped 20 bags and popped two homers in the majors. Most of his big league time has come with the Padres, though he also appeared in a dozen games with the Mets last year.
Azocar is out to a fine start in Triple-A this year. He’s taken 113 plate appearances with Atlanta’s Gwinnett affiliate and slashed .270/.348/.420 with a couple homers, eight steals, a 10.6% walk rate and a 16.8% strikeout rate. Those slash stats are near mirror images of Azocar’s career marks in Triple-A. He’s played parts of six seasons at the top minor league level and notched a .276/.321/.416 batting line in 1203 plate appearances.
While he’s never been a huge threat with the bat, Azocar possesses plus speed (88th percentile in 2025, per Statcast) and is a quality defender in all three outfield spots. He’s spent 459 big league innings in center, 370 in right and 238 in left. Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average both peg him as at least average in all three slots, with Azocar’s center field work standing as his most effective to date.
The Braves placed Eli White — another speedy, glove-first, righty-swinging outfielder — on the injured list earlier this morning. However, his IL placement coincided with Ha-Seong Kim‘s return from the injured list, which is going to mean less infield work for Mauricio Dubón and Jorge Mateo, both of whom can play the outfield. With that pair supporting the trio of Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr., there’s no need for another speed-and-defense outfielder on the bench. If the Braves incur more injuries in the outfield, however, Azocar could get another look, given that the Braves don’t have any minor league outfielders on the 40-man roster.
José Azocar Elects Free Agency
Outfielder José Azocar elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. The Braves had designated him for assignment on Wednesday when they called up rookie infielder Jim Jarvis.
Azocar signed a minor league deal with Atlanta shortly before the New Year. It was his second stint in the organization after he’d spent a couple weeks on the MLB bench last season. Azocar only played in two games last year. He began this season at Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .270/.348/.420 with a pair of home runs in 113 plate appearances.
Atlanta called Azocar up last week when Ronald Acuña Jr. landed on the injured list. He started Sunday’s game in right field and went hitless in two at-bats. He came off the bench as a pinch-runner a day later and stole a base. That was the extent of this year’s MLB stint.
Azocar has now appeared in parts of five big league seasons. He’s a .243/.288/.318 hitter over 420 career trips, most of which came during his first two seasons (2021-22) with the Padres. The 29-year-old (30 next week) carries a .276/.321/.416 line over parts of six Triple-A campaigns. He’s a good runner who can play anywhere in the outfield. Azocar should sign a minor league contract somewhere in the coming days, and a return to Atlanta would hardly be a surprise.
Braves Select Jim Jarvis, Designate Jose Azocar
The Braves announced they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jim Jarvis from Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll head to the majors for the first call-up of his career. Outfielder Jose Azocar has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Jarvis, a product of the University of Alabama, was an 11th-round pick by the Tigers in 2023. Detroit traded him to Atlanta at last summer’s deadline for middle reliever Rafael Montero. Jarvis was amidst a middling offensive season in Double-A but has posted stronger numbers since joining the Braves’ system.
The lefty batter hit .265/.344/.361 over 21 games with Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate after the trade. He earned a late-season bump to Gwinnett, where he has played the first five weeks of this season. Jarvis is out to an excellent .308/.415/.445 start through 153 plate appearances. He has worked walks at a lofty 15% clip against a lower than average 17.6% strikeout rate while stealing 15 bases in 17 tries.
Jarvis has shown a strong awareness of the strike zone throughout his minor league career. He hasn’t been much of a power threat despite connecting on four home runs and six doubles in Triple-A. That accounts a third of the longballs he has hit in nearly 1200 professional plate appearances. Jarvis’ exit velocities in Gwinnett are still middling, so he’s unlikely to hit for much power at the MLB level.
The lack of offensive impact has kept Jarvis mostly off the prospect radar. Baseball America ranked him 28th in the Atlanta system over the offseason, while Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs had him as an honorable mention in his March writeup of the organization. Both outlets credit Jarvis as a steady, if not particularly flashy, shortstop with a contact-based offensive approach.
Atlanta has moved Mauricio Dubón from shortstop to center field over the past week. That was initially driven by Michael Harris II battling minor quad discomfort that kept him out of the field. Harris donned a glove last night but started in left field for the first time in his career. They kept Dubón in center while pushing Mike Yastrzemski over to right field. That’ll probably be their primary outfield trio while Ronald Acuña Jr. is out, even if they flip Harris back up the middle and Dubón to left once Harris is back to full speed.
Jarvis gives them a little more depth on the infield behind stopgap shortstop Jorge Mateo. The Braves should get Ha-Seong Kim back from injury within the next week to 10 days. That’ll push Mateo back to a depth role alongside Kyle Farmer and could nudge Jarvis back to Triple-A.
Azocar was just selected onto the MLB roster as outfield depth when Acuña went down on Sunday. He made one start in right field, going 0-2. He pinch ran and stole a base on Monday. The 29-year-old has had a couple very brief stints on Atlanta’s roster over the last two years. Azocar was out to a .270/.348/.420 start with Gwinnett but has a modest .243/.288/.318 batting line over parts of five MLB campaigns.
Atlanta will trade Azocar or place him on waivers within the next five days. The latter outcome seems likelier. There’s a decent chance he’ll clear because he’s out of minor league options, meaning a claiming team would need to be willing to carry him on the big league roster. Azocar has been outrighted in his career a few times, giving him the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed again.