Landers sign half-Korean pitcher Mitch White

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Landers sign half-Korean pitcher Mitch White

Published: 16 Nov. 2024, 11:54

In this Getty Images file photo from Sept. 23, 2022, Mitch White of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. [GETTY IMAGES/YONHAP]

The SSG Landers announced Saturday they have signed half-Korean former major league pitcher Mitch White, bringing him to the country of his mother's birth to continue his career.

White agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million, the maximum amount allowed for all first-year foreign players in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

The 29-year-old right-hander has 71 major league games under his belt, including 22 starts, and has a 4-12 record with a 5.25 ERA over 185 innings.

He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 2016 draft and made his big league debut with them in 2020. He later played for the Toronto Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers.

In five Triple-A seasons, White compiled a 13-12 record with a 4.79 ERA in 64 appearances, including 42 starts, and struck out 257 batters in 225 2/3 innings.

According to Baseball Savant, White threw four-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, curveball and slider in the majors in 2024. He averaged 93.9 miles per hour with his fastball, which would instantly make him the hardest-throwing starter in the KBO if he maintains it in 2025.

White was born in San Jose, California, to a Korean mother and an American father. In a statement released by the Landers, White said he'd always wanted to play in his mother's country and it will be special to be able to play baseball in Korea.

Yonhap