San Francisco Giants Trade For a Former Top Prospect

San Francisco Giants Acquired Mitch White on Saturday

White barely made the Blue Jays roster this spring, and likely benefitted from lacking minor league options. Toronto decided to give the 29-year-old one more opportunity, but he evidently failed to take advantage of it.

In 10 innings this season, White posted a 5.40 ERA (73 ERA+) with an awful strikeout rate and a slightly above-average walk rate. Plus, hitters were making solid contact off him and were not whiffing on his pitches.

White’s career in Toronto will go down in a similarly disappointing fashion. Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2022 deadline, White produced a 7.26 ERA in 65 2/3 innings as a Blue Jay. His numbers in Triple-A were not any better, and his time with Toronto eventually ran its course.

That said, the Giants acquired White in hopes of unlocking his upside. The Dodgers, who then employed current Giants front office leader Farhan Zaidi, drafted White in the second round of the 2016 draft. In his time in the Dodgers system, White was a fringe Top-100 prospect and pitched well in parts of three major league seasons.

With the Dodgers, White produced a very good 116 ERA+ in 105 ⅔ innings. While he didn’t have a main role on the pitching staff, he provided quality depth innings and bounced between the rotation and bullpen. Zaidi and the Giants acquired White cheaply in hopes of developing him. If they can, it could serve as an unheralded early-season steal.

Alex Cobb Update

The Giants expected Cobb to miss roughly the first half of the season after offseason hip surgery. However, he started progressing well and seemed like he could debut earlier than expected. Unfortunately, Cobb recently experienced discomfort in his elbow. While an MRI revealed only inflammation and nothing serious, the “mild” setback will keep Cobb sidelined until at least May 27.

While White won’t replace Cobb in the rotation, he can provide the Giants with multiple innings at a time. Ideally, he and a couple of other Giants can eat multiple innings per outing until Cobb and Robbie Ray return.