November 25, 2019

Official Seattle Mariners Press Release

MARINERS SIGN EVAN WHITE TO SIX-YEAR MAJOR LEAGUE CONTRACT

White was the Mariners first-round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft.

SEATTLE, Wash. – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that the Mariners have signed first baseman Evan White to a six-year Major League contract.

White is signed through 2025 with club options in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

White’s deal was negotiated by his agent, Toronto native Blake Corosky of True Gravity Baseball.

Seattle’s 40-man Major League roster is now at 37 players.

“Evan White stands out in so many ways,” Dipoto said. “We love the player and we love the person. The combination made it very easy to want to sign him for the better part of the next decade.

“We believe this is the next stage in a long-term investment in our young players, in bringing together young, core players who have a ton of talent and are also high-character people.”

White has appeared in parts of 3 minor league seasons in the Mariners organization, batting .296 (268x906) with 139 runs scored, 43 doubles, 10 triples, 32 home runs, 133 RBI, 87 walks, 7 stolen bases, a .361 on-base percentage and a .471 slugging percentage (.832 OPS) in 230 games. He was originally selected by the Mariners with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Kentucky.

During his junior season in 2017 at the University of Kentucky, he hit .373 (79x212) with 48 runs, 24 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 41 RBI and 25 walks with a .453 on-base percentage and a .637 slugging mark in 53 games (52 starts). He was named as a 2nd-Team Collegiate All-American following the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Over the course of three seasons with the Wildcats, he hit .356 (233x655) with 119 runs, 51 doubles, 5 triples, 17 home runs, 109 RBI, a .414 on-base percentage and a .527 slugging mark in 159 games. In 2016, he earned a Rawlings Gold Glove (1B), 2nd-Team All-SEC (1B), All-SEC Defensive Team (1B), SEC Academic Honor Roll, and was named SEC Player of the Week Twice (3/7/16 and 3/28/16). In 2015, he was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team, All-SEC Defensive Team and the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.

The 6-for-3, 205-pound infielder spent the 2016 summer as a member of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team where he started 15 of the team’s 19 games, primarily at first base with spot starts in the outfield.

Prior to his time at Kentucky, he was the All-Ohio Baseball Player of the Year after setting school records for hits in a season (50), career doubles and RBI. He was rated the 13th best Ohio prospect available in the 2014 MLB Draft at the completion of his playing career at Gahanna Lincoln High School. He earned 1st-team All-State, All-Region and All-District honors as a junior and senior and all-district and all-conference honors as a sophomore and honorable mention accolades as a freshman. He led the team to the regional championship as a junior and senior and three district championships overall.