The Blue Jays have given up on Mitch White being a starter this year

The Toronto Blue Jays will no longer be treating Mitch White as a starting pitching option, manager John Schneider told Ethan Diamandis of Sports Illustrated on Monday. Instead, he’ll now be used as a bulk pitcher or a multi-inning reliever.

The Blue Jays acquired White from the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of last season’s trade deadline to give the team some more depth at the back of their starting rotation and he simply hasn’t been able to fill that role.

White posted an ugly 7.74 ERA over 10 appearances, eight of which were starts, in 2022 after the Blue Jays traded for him. Given his solid results with the Dodgers and the fact that his FIP was much better than his ERA, there was optimism that White could rebound and find his groove in 2023 after adjusting to the change of scenery.

He came into spring training battling with Yusei Kikuchi for the fifth spot in Toronto’s rotation but had his build-up to a starting pitcher’s load delayed because of a right shoulder issue he suffered during the off-season. White started the season on the Injured List and has been struggling through a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo since.

Through eight outings with the Bisons, four of which have been starts, White owns a shockingly bad 9.14 ERA. His peripheral numbers aren’t much better, as he’s allowing 12.0 hits and 5.8 walks per nine innings pitched.

The Blue Jays shut down White’s first rehab assignment because of fatigue and they moved him to the 60-day Injured List to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for somebody else. He took a few weeks off and then returned for a second rehab stint which comes to an end on June 25. Since White is out of options, he would need to go through waivers in order to remain in the minor leagues once his rehab assignment comes to an end.

This is a very frustrating situation for the Blue Jays because they paid a high price to acquire White. The prospect that they sent back to the Dodgers, Nick Frasso, has a 0.90 ERA through eight appearances in Double-A so far this season.