Elijah Thomas White (born June 26, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has played in MLB for the Texas Rangers.

Amateur career

White attended

Wren High School Wren High School (WHS) is a public high school in Anderson School District One in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Athletics State championships * Basketbal ...

Piedmont, South Carolina Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson and Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 5,411 at the 2020 census. Piedmont is a part of the Greenville-Anderson metropolita ...

. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

but did not sign. He attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 37th round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, but again did not sign and returned to Clemson. White played for the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

of the

Cape Cod League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

during the summer of 2015. After his junior season, he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB draft and signed for a $100,000 signing bonus.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

White spent his first professional season with the

Arizona League Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Oakland Athletics organization since 1988. T ...

and

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...

, hitting .275 with two home runs and 25 RBIs in 56 games. He played for the Stockton Ports in 2017, hitting .270 with four home runs and 36 RBIs in 115 games. In 2018, he played for the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

, slashing .306/.388/.450 with nine home runs, 55 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases in 130 games. After the 2018 season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

Texas Rangers

On December 21, 2018, the Rangers acquired White from the Athletics as part of a three-team deal in which the Rangers also acquired Kyle Bird, Brock Burke, Yoel Espinal, and $750,000 of international signing bonus pool space, the Rays acquired

Emilio Pagán Emilio Enrique Pagán (born May 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. ...

, Rollie Lacy, and a competitive balance pick in the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

, and the Athletics acquired

Jurickson Profar Jurickson Barthelomeus Profar (born February 20, 1993) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball infielder and outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padr ...

. In 2019, White played for the Nashville Sounds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. White's season ended early on August 20, when he suffered a shoulder injury after crashing into an outfield wall. White produced a .253/.320/.418/.738 slash line with 14 home runs and 43 RBI over 116 games in 2019. On September 1, 2020, White made his MLB debut against the Houston Astros. Over 19 games with Texas in 2020, White hit .188 with 3 RBI. On June 16, 2021, White hit his first and second career home runs, the first one off of Houston Astros starting pitcher

Zack Greinke Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...

, and the second off of Astros starter-turn reliever

Cristian Javier Cristian Javier (born March 26, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Javier signed with the Astros as an international free agent in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2020. During ...

. He spent 20 games with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

in 2021, hitting .343/.450/.537/.987 with 3 home runs and 11 RBIs. In 64 games with Texas in 2021, he hit .177/.259/.308/.567 with 6 home runs and 15 RBIs. In 2021, he had the fastest sprint speed of all major league left fielders, at 30.5 feet/second. He underwent Internal Brace surgery on his right elbow on September 8, 2021. Over 47 games for Texas in 2022, White hit just .200/.274/.305/.578 with 3 home runs, 10 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. He underwent surgery in June of 2022 due to suffering a right wrist fracture and missed the remainder of the season. On December 23, 2022, White was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

Atlanta Braves

On December 28, 2022, White was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Eli 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Greenville, South Carolina Baseball players from South Carolina Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Texas Rangers players Clemson Tigers baseball players Brewster Whitecaps players Arizona League Athletics players Vermont Lake Monsters players Stockton Ports players Midland RockHounds players Mesa Solar Sox players Nashville Sounds players Round Rock Express players