Veteran OF elects free agency after being outrighted by Mets

Outfielder Jose Azocar elected free agency after being outrighted by the Mets, relays Mike Puma of The New York Post. He’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. It’s the second time in the past couple of months in which Azocar went unclaimed on waivers. Players with multiple career outrights can test free agency.

Azocar will be limited to minor league offers but could look for a team with less outfield depth. He didn’t have much of a path to playing time behind Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Juan Soto and fourth outfielder Starling Marte. The Mets had carried him on the MLB roster since April 17, and he only started five games in as many weeks. Azocar made an appearance as a pinch-runner the night before being DFA, the first time he’d played in any capacity since May 14.

The 29-year-old Azocar spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Padres. He operated as a speed and defense specialist off the bench. Azocar hit .243/.287/.322 with a couple of home runs and 18 stolen bases in just under 400 plate appearances in a San Diego uniform. The Mets added him via waivers last September. They kept him on an optional assignment to Triple-A for the rest of that season.

That was his final option year, so the Mets had to carry him on the MLB roster or expose him to waivers this year. He went unclaimed at the end of spring training. The Mets brought him back up after a couple of weeks in Triple-A, where he’d been hitting .244 with a .367 on-base mark over 11 games. Azocar has a .286/.322/.434 slash in nearly 900 career Triple-A plate appearances. He’s a plus-plus runner with more than 5,000 professional innings of center field experience.