If you look at Owen White's big-league numbers, you might think the Chicago White Sox made a terrible decision to claim him off of waivers.
However, he is exactly the type of player the White Sox should be picking up.
As MLB Trade Rumors accurately pointed out, White may have gotten roughed up during a brief big-league tenure with the Texas Rangers, but he was once considered a top-100 prospect.
Since the White Sox are not expected to do much this season, they can afford to see if there is still a chance he can reach his potential.
Plus, he is still 25, so there is still time in his career to still be something.
White is a former second-round pick of the Rangers. His professional career got off to a delayed start due to needing Tommy John surgery in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 season for the minor leagues.
He showed promise with a 3.06 ERA in 2021 between the Complex League and Low-A. Then he had a 3.59 ERA in 2022 between High-A and Double-A. He followed up that 2022 season with a 3.51 ERA at Double-A to start the 2023 season.
That is when things started to spiral for White's career.
He had an 11.25 ERA in four innings when he made his big-league debut. White also posted a 4.99 ERA at Triple-A with a 1.61 WHIP.
The Rangers gave him three appearances last season where he had a 24.00 ERA. He was also terrible at Triple-A with a 5.64 ERA. He was also tried as a reliever where he also posted a 5.50 ERA.
He was designated for assignment after last season where he eventually got traded to the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds ended up waiving him where he was claimed by the New York Yankees. The Yankees ended up waiving him this offseason too.
Now, he gets a chance to impress the White Sox.
Although, it makes sense to get a look at what he can do in Triple-A since he has a minor-league option left.
Plus, he can be used as a depth starter that can be called up in case of an injury. That is if the White Sox want to use him as a starter.
The White Sox bullpen blew 37 saves last season and the pitching staff blew 56 leads last year. The front office should be turning over every stone possible to get better.
White was once a highly thought-of-pitching prospect, so it is not like the White Sox are grabbing some guy from the Frontier League.
Maybe, the front office could have found a better use of the 40-man roster space opened up after Ky Bush was put on the 60-day IL after it was announced Bush needed Tommy John surgery.
Still, the White Sox are so early in their rebuild, that seeing if failed prospects can be fixed is what this franchise should be doing.
This club has lost the benefit of the doubt in being able to that. However, the Sox have had a track record of developing pitchers. They also have Brian Bannister as the head of pitching development who is forward thinking enough to possibly fix White.
White can throw seven pitches, but that might be too many to use in the majors. It goes against Bannister's pitching philosophy in that pitchers should develop a few good pitches and then throw those pitches a lot.
White could turn out to be a pitcher who does nothing for the White Sox. However, he could turn out to be another Bannister success story.