The SSG Landers announced that right-hander Mitch White has agreed to a one-year, $1MM contract with the Korea Baseball Organization team. White elected to become a minor league free agent at season’s end, after he was previously outrighted off the Brewers’ 40-man roster back in June.
A second-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2016 draft, White drew some top-100 attention during his time in the Los Angeles farm system, and he cracked the big leagues during the shortened 2020 campaign. White posted a 3.58 ERA, 22.02% strikeout rate, and 8.31% walk rate over 105 2/3 innings with the Dodgers from 2020-22, working as either starter or reliever based on the team’s needs.
L.A. often shuttled White back and forth between Triple-A and the majors in as part of this swingman role, and ultimately found him expendable enough to be dealt to the Blue Jays at the 2022 trade deadline. The deal seemingly derailed White’s career, as the right-hander has badly struggled against MLB hitters since leaving the Dodgers organization. He posted a 7.74 ERA in 43 innings for the Jays for the rest of the 2022 season, and a 7.18 ERA in 36 1/3 innings since Opening Day 2023.
White’s 2024 workload of 23 2/3 innings was split between Toronto, San Francisco, and Milwaukee. The Giants picked White up from the Jays after Toronto designated him for assignment in April, and the Brewers acquired him a few weeks later after the Giants also sent him to DFA limbo. White’s only time in the minor leagues was spent with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, and his numbers (4.06 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, and 8.8% walk rate) were at least a marked improvement over his time in the Show.
Since White’s chances of landing a guaranteed contract from a Major League team this winter weren’t great, the move to South Korea allows White (who turns 30 in December) the opportunity to lock in a seven-figure salary. A strong showing with the Landers could put White back onto the radar for MLB teams next offseason, if he had interest in making a fairly quick return to North American baseball. Playing in the KBO League also some additional personal appeal t0 White, whose mother is Korean.