Former Blue Jays outfielder elects free agency
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Former Toronto Blue Jays Outfielder Joshua Palacios elected minor league free agency after being outrighted by the Pirates Pirates, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The Bucs had designated him for assignment during the final week of Spring Training.
Palacios hails from Brooklyn, N.Y. and played for the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology, earning 2013 New York City High School Player of the Year honors.
Originally the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 31st round of the 2014 MLB Draft, but he decided on playing for San Jacinto Junior College.
He hit .376 with six doubles and 26 RBIs for San Jacinto as a freshman in 2014 and then .364 with 12 doubles, nine triples, 36 RBIs and 29 stolen bases as a sophomore in 2015.
A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jays, Palacios debuted with Toronto in 2021. He logged limited action with the Jays and Nationals before landing with the Pirates.
The lefty-swinging outfielder is a career .230/.286/.364 hitter across 433 plate appearances. He has a much more impressive .303/.388/.485 slash in more than 700 trips to the plate in Triple-A.
Palacios cleared outright waivers for the second time in his career, which gave him the right to choose free agency instead of accepting a minor league assignment.
Palacios landed with the Bucs in the Triple-A phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. He made a career-high 91 appearances the following season, hitting .239/.279/.413 with 10 homers.
Palacios held his 40-man roster spot throughout last season, though he spent a decent chunk of the year on optional assignment to Triple-A.
He hit well in the upper minors, posting a .291/.372/.489 line with five homers over 208 plate appearances. Palacios got into 23 big league contests and hit .224 with a pair of longballs.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 1 | 54 ANSWERS Former Blue Jays outfielder elects free agency Will another team sign former Blue Jays outfielder Joshua Polacios? | ||
| Yes | 27 | 50 % |
| No | 15 | 27.8 % |
| Too early to tell | 12 | 22.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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