Touki Toussaint was formerly considered one of the Atlanta Braves’ best pitching prospects.
The Braves appeared to have gotten a steal in Toussaint and his tremendously promising raw stuff when they essentially “bought” him from the Diamondbacks by taking up Bronson Arroyo’s contract in 2015. However, this is not exactly how things panned out.
Toussaint rose through the minor leagues with the Braves before making his way to the majors with Atlanta in 2018. While he had glimpses of brilliance on occasion, he was unable to control his immense raw talent, and Atlanta eventually designated Toussaint for assignment in July 2022.
Toussaint has since gone on a tour of the league, with the Angels, Guardians, and White Sox all betting on him to work things out with them. Unfortunately, Toussaint’s most recent trip in Chicago this season ended in the same way as all of his previous stops, with the White Sox releasing him on Tuesday.
Braves News: Former Braves Touki Toussaint without a job again after being DFA’d by White Sox
While this appears to be late-season roster housekeeping by a genuinely bad White Sox squad, it also appears to be the end of Toussaint’s big league career. Toussaint has already been designated for assignment four times, and he is running out of teams willing to take a chance on him. His 7.43 ERA in 11 outings with Chicago in 2024 won’t help his chances.
Toussaint does have some advantages, however. Despite the fact that he appears to have been around forever, he is only 28 years old and has mostly avoided the big ailments that have plagued many pitchers with power stuff recently. Unfortunately, the timing of his DFA means that contenders are unlikely to be particularly interested in his services, since he would be ineligible for the postseason if picked up.
Toussaint’s stuff continues to enchant, as his curveball can be a true weapon even if he is only throwing 91 mph these days. Walks remain a problem, so he will most likely receive another non-roster spring training invite in 2025 if he wants one. However, it is difficult not to believe that Touki will be playing his way out of the league sooner than later.