Evan White

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Evan McKee White

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Biographical Information[edit]

First baseman Evan White was the 17th overall selection in the 2017 amateur draft, from the University of Kentucky. He began his professional career that season with the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League, where he hit .277 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs in 14 games. In 2018, he played a full season of 120 games with the Modesto Nuts of the California League, and also got a brief try-out at the AAA level with the Tacoma Rainiers, for 4 games. With Modesto, he hit .303 with 11 homers and 66 RBIs; he also hit 27 doubles and 7 triples and scored 72 runs in what was a very solid season. He moved up to AA in 2019 with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League, where he hit .293 with 18 homers and 55 RBIs.

Following the 2019 season, on November 22nd, the Mariners reached a historic deal with White, as they signed him to a contract extension worth a minimum of $24 million and up to $66 million over six years. While other teams had signed players to these types of extensions before, they had either just reached the majors, or had completed a season in AAA and were about to make the big league debut, as had been the case for Mike Kingery and Jon Singleton. In White's case, it wasn't clear if he would have a shot at a regular job at the major league level in 2020, although his strong performance over his first three seasons had convinced the team that locking him up for an extended period was a good business decision. He did make his debut on opening day in 2020, albeit after it was delayed until July 24th. He started at first base and went 1-for-4. He hit only .176 in 54 games, with an OPS+ of 66, although he did win a Gold Glove at first base - because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were based only on advanced statistics, leading to some unexpected results - and he did have a few extra-base hits, 7 doubles and 8 homers. Still, it was a disappointing rookie season, and then things went from bad to worse early in 2021, as he hit .144 with a slugging percentage of .237 in 30 games. He played his final bg league game on May 13th after which he went on the injured list with a hip flexor strain. Apart from a four-game rehabilitation outing with the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, he did not play again that season.

2022 and 2023 were basically two lost seasons for White, as he was again beset with injuries, appearing in a total of 30 minor league games over the two years, and did not make it back to the majors. He hit .204 with 7 homers in 28 games in 2022, showing some of the potential that had wowed the team's top brass in earlier years, but only got 9 plate appearances the second year. Injuries included a sports hernia, an adductor strain and two hip surgeries, the latest in March 2023. Meanwhile, the Mariners had moved on, with Ty France emerging as a very solid major league first baseman. With White still on the books for a lot of money over the next three seasons, the Mariners pulled off a trade with the Atlanta Braves on December 3, 2023, with White and P Marco Gonzales, also the beneficiary of a generous salary, accompanying Jarred Kelenic in return for two pitching prospects in Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. Kelenic was obviously the big piece in the deal, but the Braves were willing to take a chance on the two others in case they returned to their past level of performance. Just five days later, the Braves flipped White and minor league pitcher Tyler Thomas (who had also just been acquired, in the 2023 Rule V Draft) to the Los Angeles Angels for David Fletcher and Max Stassi.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Scott Boeck: "Mariners prospect Evan White agrees to historic $24 million deal before reaching majors", USA Today, November 22, 2019. [1]

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