The Mitch White era with the Blue Jays finally ends with trade to NL West hopefuls

With our premature dismissal of Mitch White from the Toronto Blue Jays organization after he was designated for assignment last season, his time with the Jays has officially come to an end this time around. On Saturday, White was traded to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations following an underwhelming tenure with the club. The trade comes in the aftermath of his designation for assignment earlier in the week when the Jays needed to make room for their returning bullpen reinforcements in Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson.

White was originally acquired by the Jays along with infielder Alex de Jesus from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for pitching prospects Nick Frasso and Moises Brito at the 2022 trade deadline. The addition of White was suppose to help bolster their pitching depth for the stretch run that year. However, despite showing great promise previously with the Dodgers, he has largely failed to reach his full potential in a Jays’ uniform. 

Over his three disappointing seasons with the team, White compiled an abysmal 1-6 record with a 7.26 ERA, 55 ERA+, 1.69 WHIP, giving up 53 earned runs on 84 hits with 27 walks and 50 strikeouts over 65.2 innings in 24 games played (eight starts). That was a far cry from the 3.58 ERA, 116 ERA+ and 1.20 WHIP that he averaged with Los Angeles prior to joining Toronto. Despite showing some glimmers of hope during spring training and in his first appearance this season, things fell apart for him once again in his follow-up outings, leading to his departure.

Still at the young age of 29 and as a former second round pick from the 2016 MLB Draft, White still has the chance to revitalize his career now with a fresh start with the perennial-contending Giants. Especially when White has shown prior success in the NL West as a Dodger, perhaps returning to the division where it all began for him is just what he needs to find success once again at the big league level.