The Mariners are signing reliever Brendan White out of the independent ranks, according to an announcement from the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Stormers. White finished last season with the Stormers after being released from a minor league contract with the Tigers in July.
White, 27, pitched in the majors for Detroit a couple seasons ago. He made 33 appearances and tossed 40 2/3 innings of 5.09 ERA ball as a rookie in 2023. He struck out a quarter of batters faced against a league average 8.5% walk rate. He sat in the 94-95 mph range with his four-seam fastball while using a mid-80s breaking ball almost two-thirds of the time.
The right-hander lost most of the ’24 season to injury. Detroit non-tendered him at the end of the year but brought him back on a minor league contract. White had a rough return to Triple-A Toledo last season. His strikeout rate fell to 17% as opponents rocked him for more than seven earned runs per nine innings. He continued to struggle after landing with the Stormers, giving up six runs while handing out 10 free passes (six walks and four hit batters) across 9 2/3 innings.
White will look to put the down year behind him as he joins a new MLB organization for the first time in his career. He’ll presumably open the season at Triple-A Tacoma.
