Welcome to the Blue, Tyler White!

The Dodgers made a trade, but it was not for a reliever -- although, he has come out of the pen before. As you likely know by now, the Dodgers picked up first baseman Tyler White from the Houston Astros, and hopefully we didn't trade a future star in return (like Yordan Álvarez). Per a Dodger Press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that they have acquired infielder Tyler White from the Houston Astros in exchange for right-handed pitcher Andre Scrubb.

White, 28, was designated for assignment on July 19 by the Astros. Upon his designation, he was hitting .225 (49-for-218) with three homers and 21 RBI in 71 games. The North Carolina native had a breakout season in 2018, batting .276 (58-for-210) with 12 homers and 42 RBI. In parts of four Major League seasons with Houston, he has slashed .241/.319/.410 with 26 homers and 101 RBI. 

Scrubb, 24, was originally drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of High Point University. He appeared in 29 games for Double-A Tulsa in 2019, going 6-1 with a 2.45 ERA (13 ER/47.2 IP) and 56 strikeouts. In four minor leagues seasons, he posted a combined 21-6 record with a 2.37 ERA (46 ER/ 175.0 IP) and 201 strikeouts in 108 games.

Andre Scrubb is far from a scrub. In fact, he's been quite effective as a reliever in Double-A this season. As for Tyler White, he strikes me more as a potential right-handed bench piece. As Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest suggest, this move feels like insurance. The Dodgers probably don't want depend too heavily on Kyle Garlick being our only right-handed bat off the bench. Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors dives into this more deeply:

The Dodgers recently lost a right-handed bat for the foreseeable future when Chris Taylor landed on the injured list with a fractured forearm. While White can’t match Taylor’s defensive versatility, he’s an affordable alternative with .780 OPS (112 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. And with so many other versatile defenders on the roster, the Dodgers likely don’t mind White’s limited defensive skill set as much.

Ken Gurnick at MLB.com also adds the following:

The Astros designated the 28-year-old White for assignment on Saturday. He was slashing .225/.320/.330 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 218 at-bats this year, mainly split between first base and designated hitter. He is out of options, so he will go onto the Dodgers’ 25-man roster, with a corresponding move necessary. 

Despite the disappointing stats, Dodgers management sees White as right-handed depth for a bench that is heavily left-handed. The best right-handed role player on the roster is Freese, who has been hobbled by knee and hamstring issues since before the All-Star break. 

A 33rd-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, White defied the odds by making the Opening Day roster in 2016 and was named American League Player of the Week in his first week in the big leagues.

BTW, you can follow Tyler on twitter here: @twhite409. Lastly, I mentioned above that White has pitched in the past. In fact, he's come out of the bullpen for the Astros six times during his short career with the team, and they were all games that were far out of reach. Maybe this pick up was made to save the arm of current Dodger mop-up man Russell Martin.

In celebration of White's addition to the franchise I made a couple of custom Fantasy baseball cards of him that you can see at the very top.

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