Touki Toussaint was acquired by the Braves when the team was rebuilding. In exchange, the club took on the contract of Bronson Arroyo in what was a salary dump by the Diamondbacks. The former first-round pick quickly became one of the top prospects in the Braves organization, and a personal favorite of mine.
It didn’t take long for Toussaint to reach the majors. He was drafted out of high school in 2014 and made his debut with the Braves as a 22-year-old four years later. Toussaint was oozing with potential, and he flashed it on several occasions as a starter and reliever in Atlanta.
Unfortunately, like so many pitching prospects before him, consistency held him back. Toussaint struggled mightily with free passes, averaging 5.3 of them per nine innings throughout his four-year Braves career. He received a multitude of opportunities with Atlanta, but eventually, he was out of options, and it was time to designate him for assignment.
Because of Toussaint’s age and repertoire, there was next to no chance that he cleared waivers. The Angels would pick him up last season, but the same problems persisted. He walked 6.8 batters per nine innings with the Halos, who chose to designate him for assignment following the season.
I wouldn’t have minded the Braves giving Touki Toussaint another chance for some organizational depth, especially after they traded most of their top pitching prospects for Sean Murphy. He’s still only 27, and there’s a chance he eventually figures it out, but that wasn’t in the cards, as he inked a minor-league deal with the Guardians.
The Guardians have signed four players to minor-league deals that include invites to big-league spring training:
OF Roman Quinn
RHP Touki Toussaint
C Cam Gallagher
RHP Michael Kelly— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) January 4, 2023
Touki Toussaint was always a joy to have in the clubhouse and on social media. I hope he does find the answers this season because he has the talent. The good news is he’s joining an organization that has done a fantastic job developing pitchers. Hopefully, we get a chance to see him on the big-league stage again in 2023.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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