4 Blue Jays players who won’t be on the roster by July 1st

Mitch White

If one can recall, Mitch White was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2022 trade deadline as pitching depth for the Jays, as Hyun Jin Ryu was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery. White had been producing respectable numbers with the Dodgers’ organization prior to joining the Jays, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.202 WHIP, with 37 walks and 98 strikeouts over 105.2 innings. Whether one could attribute it to the “pitching haven” whenever pitchers play with the Dodgers as the reason for his success, White has certainly been unable to replicate that same magic here in Toronto. His ERA with the organization is close to double of what his career numbers were, with an ERA+ falling to 49 and a WHIP skyrocketing to 1.746.

Nevertheless, the Jays were still willing to give White another chance at the big show for the start of 2023, letting him battle it out with Yusei Kikuchi for the fifth spot in the rotation. However, after battling an offseason shoulder impingement injury, he was ruled out again with elbow inflammation prior to the start of the season. In his recent nine-game rehab stint in the minors, he posted relatively unimpressive numbers with a stats line of 8.61 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, giving up 22 earned runs, 29 hits, 14 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched. Not surprisingly, when he finally made his season debut with the Jays on June 10th, he promptly gave up a three-run homer to Minnesota Twins’ outfielder Max Kepler, resulting in a disappointing outing. His main and only strength with the club right now is that he can go multiple innings in long relief if needed, but with Richards and Nate Pearson showing recently they could be up for the task but pitching effectively at the same time, White’s days as a Blue Jay could be numbered.