With the 2020 Major League Baseball season being shortened to 60 games and the Minor League season cancelled altogether, the Los Angeles Dodgers are allowed to carry 60 players in their player pool.
The Opening Day roster starts at 30 players before shortened to 28 and then ultimately to 26 to finish out the year. One noticeable absence from the Dodgers’ player pool, which has added more names since initially being unveiled, was Tyler White.
The Dodgers acquired White from the Houston Astros in the middle of last season. He appeared in 12 games before going down with a season-ending injury, batting just .045/.192/.045 during the brief time with L.A.
White reported to Spring Training healthy, although he was eventually designated for assignment and then brought back as a non-roster invitee after clearing waivers.
He became a free agent once again after being left out of the player pool, and it appears he has found a new home, as according to Daniel Kim of DKTV, White is signing with the SK Wyverns of the KBO League:
According to #MLB sources 1B Tyler White is finalizing his contract with the #SKWyverns in the #KBO. White was in camp with #Dodgers this Spring & was not on their 60-man roster. #KBO #KBOonESPN
— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) July 15, 2020
The Wyverns currently sit at 19-42, which is in second-to-last place in their division. That should give White the opportunity to get some playing time to finish out the season.
White showed some promise in the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Astros, hitting a combined .277/.349/.531 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 88 games. If he can produce those type of numbers in the KBO then it would not be surprising to see him return to MLB next season depending on how long his contract is.
Dodgers’ first-base depth without White
As far as depth at first base, Max Muncy is the team’s starter although he is currently dealing with a minor hand injury.
Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios are both capable backups, especially with the way the latter has been swinging the bat in Summer Camp. Additionally, Cody Bellinger also has a ton of experience at first base and Kiké Hernandez can play there if necessary.
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