Brewers acquire Mitch White from the Giants.
The Giants have dealt right-handed pitcher Mitch White, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, to the Brewers for financial considerations. Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com provided the information about X. Right-hander Corbin Martin was designated for assignment to make room for White, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on X.
White, 29, was purchased by the Giants from the Blue Jays a few weeks ago in a cash transaction. He pitched 5 1/3 innings for San Francisco, allowing seven earned runs. He also yielded six earned runs in 10 innings for the Jays earlier this year, giving him a 7.63 earned run average for the season.
He is out of options and cannot be readily sent down to the minors, therefore he has already been designated for assignment twice this year. Despite his rocky start to the season, the Brewers have reasons to be interested.
He was previously a significant prospect for the Dodgers, with Baseball America listing him as one of the team’s top 20 prospects for five consecutive years beginning in 2017. He pitched 105 2/3 innings for the Dodgers between 2020 and 2022, with a 3.58 ERA, 22% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate.
However, he experienced a tough period after being dealt to the Jays in 2022. He posted a 7.74 ERA in 43 innings for Toronto late that year. He wasn’t helped by a.368 batting average on balls in play or a 54.3% strand rate, as his 3.76 FIP and 4.70 SIERA were significantly superior at the time, but he still entered last year without options and battling for a place.
He spent time on the injured list in 2023 and then struggled out of the bullpen for the Jays in 2023, eventually being dropped from the roster. But once in Triple-A, he was able to stretch out and finish the season strong. His last seven starts yielded a 1.89 ERA in 33 1/3 innings, striking out 31.4% of batters faced.
The Jays reinstated him on their roster to avoid him from becoming a minor league free agent, but as previously said, his performance here in 2024 has been subpar. However, there is enough there for the Brewers to take a gamble.
Perhaps he will take over a long relief role in the bullpen, as injuries have forced Bryse Wilson to the rotation. White still has less than three years of service time and can be cheaply maintained in the future if he continues to earn his roster spot, albeit he could be designated for assignment for the third time this season.
Martin, 28, was grabbed off waivers from the Diamondbacks last month. Both organizations kept him in the minors, and he has a 7.20 ERA in 10 innings between their two Triple-A teams this season. He has ten strikeouts and 13 walks on the year.
The Brewers will now have one week to trade him or place him on waivers. Injury has been a major issue for Martin. He missed the majority of 2019 and all of 2020 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Then he needed lat tendon surgery last year, which kept him from pitching at all in 2023. Though he was healthy enough to pitch in 2021 and 2022, his statistics were disappointing, with a 7.28 ERA in the majors and a 6.04 in the minors.
He was a notable Astros prospect before being traded to Arizona in exchange for Zack Greinke. He may still be optioned for the rest of the season and may pique the interest of another team that believes he can get back on track after shaking off some rust.
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