After being traded to the Atlanta Braves last week, former Seattle Mariners top prospect Evan White has already found himself in the minor leagues.
This resolution is not unexpected but it's still disappointing for White to not really have a chance to make the major league roster out of spring training.
Per MLBTradeRumors:
White’s outright comes as little surprise; the Braves’ acquisition of him was always a financial mechanism to facilitate their trade for Jarred Kelenic, and it was obvious that no team would place a claim on White, given the remaining $17MM he’s owed under his previously signed contract extension with the Mariners.
White technically has enough service time (three-plus years) to reject the assignment but not enough to do so while retaining the remainder of his salary (which requires five years). As such, he’ll surely accept the assignment and head to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 campaign.
A first-round pick 2017 out of the University of Kentucky, White was expected to be a major part of the Mariners rebuild. He signed a six-year contract worth $24 million before ever playing a major league game. The contract included three option years as well.
He played 54 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and won the Gold Glove at first base in the American League.
He started the 2021 season as the cleanup hitter for the Mariners but played just 30 games and eventually missed the rest of the season with a hip flexor injury.
He underwent surgery for a sports hernia in March of 2022 and was pulled multiple times from rehab assignments. He came into 2023 with optimism and started the year at AAA, only to suffer another setback.
He was traded to the Braves along with Jarred Kelenic and Marco Gonzales.
Still just 27 years old, there's hope for White to be a useful big leaguer in his career, but after this development, it doesn't look like it's going to be at the start of 2024.
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