6 Blue Jays whose future with the club hangs in the balance during spring training

Mitch White

Things have been a total disaster for Mitch White ever since joining the Jays two years ago at the trade deadline. Coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers to provide what what supposed to be solid, reliable pitching depth, White had been anything but in his one and a half season tenure with the club. After putting up solid numbers as both a starter and reliever for the Dodgers where he maintained a 3.58 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 38 games between 2020 and 2022, that version of him has yet to materialize in a Jays’ uniform.

Overall, White has posted an 0-6 record with a gaudy 7.60 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, giving up a whopping 47 earned runs along with 23 walks and 44 strikeouts in 55.2 total innings over 20 appearances (8 starts) with the Jays. It was so bad that many had thought he was done with the team when he was designated for assignment and put on waivers around last year’s deadline. But by going unclaimed, he remained in the organization and was sent outright to Buffalo. Perhaps the second chance given to him gave White some life and motivation, as he teased Jays’ nation by posting a stellar 1.69 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in just 21.1 innings pitched in his September starts with the Bisons.

With that encouraging development to end the 2023 season, maybe, just maybe White can still be a valuable depth starter or long-relief role for the Jays heading into this year. After all, he is a former second-round pick by the Dodgers back in the 2016 MLB Draft, and we all know how the Dodgers are at developing in-house pitching over the years. Preliminary results from spring training so far for White have been mixed. He had kept the opposition to only 2 hits in his 3 appearances to date, but he has had some trouble with his command, leading to a whopping 6 walks and only 2 strikeouts over his 6 innings of work. With only Yariel Rodríguez being the main pitching addition during the offseason, White will sure have his work cut out for him if he wants that one last chance to stick and shine with the club.