The Mitch White era has mercifully come to an end for the Blue Jays

On Sunday, when the Toronto Blue Jays acquired a much-needed bullpen piece in Jordan Hicks from the St. Louis Cardinals, they needed to make room for him on the 40-man roster. In doing so, the Jays finally did the inevitable by designating pitcher Mitch White for assignment. With that, we can officially say that the Mitch White era has mercifully come to an end in the organization.

Looking back, White unfortunately had a tough go around during his time with the Jays ever since he was acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. The former second round pick back in the 2016 MLB Draft had actually shown great promise during his tenure with the Dodgers. After all, he compiled a respectable 3-5 record with a 3.58 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and striking out 98 in 105.2 innings of work. That was what convinced the Jays to give up two promising prospects in Nick Frasso and Moises Brito to get him to bolster their starting pitching depth for the stretch run in 2022.

However, White had been anything but spectacular in his two years with Toronto. Overall, he posted an ugly 0-6 record with a gaudy 7.60 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, giving up a whopping 47 earned runs, with 23 walks and 44 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched as both a starter and reliever for the ballclub. The Jays tried their best to utilize White in different scenarios and different situations, but to no avail, as he would struggle in his role with no turnaround in sight.

When Trent Thornton was DFA’d more than a week ago, it was apparent that the writing was on the wall for White, since it was expected that the Jays would be active again at the trade deadline and White would probably be on the bubble if any transaction took place. Sure enough, it has come to fruition.

In doing so, it could be beneficial for both parties as the Jays now could move on with their newly acquired flamethrower in Hicks, while White may get a chance at a new start if he ends up being claimed on waivers by another team or traded by the Jays in the coming days. Nevertheless, we wish White all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for at least trying his best when he was with the ballclub.