The Rangers officially announced their signing of left-hander Hoby Milner today, which was reported earlier this week. Right-hander Owen White has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
White, 25, was one of the top pitching prospects in the league as of two years ago but his results have tailed off significantly since then. A second-round pick in the 2018 draft, White’s professional debut was delayed by 2019 Tommy John surgery and then the pandemic taking out the minor leagues in 2020. He quickly made up for lost time once he got back on the mound. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 115 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.42 earned run average. He struck out 34.1% of batters faced while giving out walks just 7.5% of the time.
That strong performance made him a consensus top 100 prospect going into 2023. But as alluded to earlier, he’s been hit around badly since then. He has allowed 13 earned runs in his first seven big league innings, meaning he has an unsightly 16.71 ERA at the moment.
That’s obviously a tiny sample size but the results in the minors have been bad as well. White has thrown 151 1/3 innings for Triple-A Round Rock over the past two years with a 5.41 ERA. The Express play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but his 17.4% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate for that club have both been subpar.
The Rangers tried moving White to a relief role midway through the most recent season, with some encouragement there. He tossed 18 innings over this final 13 Triple-A appearances with a 5.50 ERA. His 25.6% strikeout rate was a nice jump, but he was still giving out free passes at a high clip of 12.8%.
White is down to just one more option year at this point, so 2025 was shaping up to be a make-or-break sort of season. But with his declining numbers and a move to the bullpen, his prospect shine has worn off enough that he is being bumped off the roster today.
DFA limbo normally last one week, though recent years have seen that clock paused between Christmas and New Year’s Day. On this date last year, Ryan Jensen was designated for assignment by the Marlins and he wasn’t claimed off waivers by the Twins until January 4, over two weeks later.
That gives the Rangers some time to call around and see if there’s any trade interest for White. Obviously, the recent results have tamped down his value, but some club might take a shot based on his past prospect pedigree. With one option year remaining, he could be stashed in the minors by a club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.
Future Royals ace
You don’t have a cousin Paddy!
Someone will scoop him up. He’s still only 25 and is like 2 years removed from being a borderline top 100 prospect.
Results haven’t been there the last 2 years but maybe a change of scenery helps. Wouldn’t mind the Padres making a claim on him.
Wow the Rangers just cannot develop pitchers. Sad about Owen White. Maybe another team can straighten him out.
AA from the Braves on line 1.
Hey! Here’s Alex A another pitcher to sign to add to the dozen or so .200 hitters and 5+ era pitching group he is amassing.
That looks like a Chris Fetter special right there.
This is a perfect example of why you don’t overvalue your prospects all the time when you had a chance to move them for proven big leaguers who will help your team.
There are way less examples of John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander or Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen then there are solid trades that improve the big club.
Sometimes it may come back to bite you but more often than not you’re better off improving the team with the proven player.