Don't laugh at Mariners' totally random pickup from independent leagues

The Seattle Mariners have a track record of taking on seemingly innocuous bullpen arms and, seemingly overnight, turning them into relief studs. It doesn't happen all the time, but it has happened enough times to be more than just coincidence.

So around here, we instinctively snap to attention whenever the Mariners add a reliever. Yes, even when they sign a guy out of one of the independent leagues, as they did with right-hander Brendan White on Tuesday.

Granted, indy ball is not the only ball White has ever known. The 27-year-old was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 26th round in 2019, and he stuck around in their system long enough to pitch in the majors in 2023.

He only posted a 5.09 ERA in 33 appearances with Detroit that year. He then had elbow trouble in 2024 and bottomed out in 2025 with a 7.24 ERA in 27 appearances for Triple-A Toledo. Even once he started pitching for the Lancaster Stormers of the Atlantic League, his numbers were still on the ugly side: 9.2 innings, nine hits, six runs, six walks and nine strikeouts.

Brendan White could have something to offer the Mariners

White nonetheless has things that make him interesting, beginning with a funky three-quarters delivery that seems to hide the ball well from the hitter. And while his 2023 breakthrough didn't yield great results, even major league hitters had a hard time with his four-seam fastball.

It averaged 94.4 mph and gave up only a .162 average, with a 35.1 Whiff%. The latter ranked just south of Jhoan Duran, who throws about a million miles per hour.

What White lacked was a functional secondary pitch. As for whether that's changed since then, the best video evidence we have is this clip from Velo University, in which White uncorks what appear to be decent-looking sliders/sweepers in between fastballs:

As a general rule, the Mariners like their relief pitchers to lean heavily on their sliders. Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash famously have great ones, and Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier have good slide pieces as well. Ditto for newcomer Jose A. Ferrer, though his is less tested in the majors.

If the Mariners think there's another good slider to be gained from White, that may well be his path to redemption in affiliated ball. As a best-case scenario, he could end up eating middle-relief innings for the big club. Bullpens always have rotating casts of characters, and there's at least one spot in the current depth chart that feels uncertain.

Even if White spends the whole season as just another arm at Triple-A Tacoma, well, that matters too. The Rainiers have a lot of games to play, and there's more to minor league ball than simply developing prospects.