The Curious Case of Eli White: Why Exactly Is He In Boston?

[Ryan Salvaggio]

In a trade deadline that featured former first overall pick Adley Rutschman and lockdown southpaw Erik Miller being dealt to the Boston Red Sox, one might argue Craig Breslow’s most surprising deal of the day came when he acquired veteran right-handed hitting outfielder Eli White from the Atlanta Braves. 

At first glance, the move doesn’t look like it makes a ton of sense, as Boston chipped away at more of its pitching depth, sending 27-year old Tyler Uberstine back to the Braves. In return, they got a player that seems counterintuitive to have on the roster, given the outfield and designated hitter options that are already on the roster in the form of Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Nate Eaton, Romy Gonzalez, Jahmai Jones, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Masataka Yoshida.

A more in-depth look at what White brings to the table, however, shows that he could turn out to be one of the more undervalued moves of the entire deadline.

Who Eli White Is Replacing In Boston

Before Tuesday night’s series opener against the White Sox, we learned that White would be activated and take the place of Gonzalez, who was subsequently being optioned to Worcester. For anyone who hasn’t been following since his return from the injured list, recovering from left shoulder surgery that caused him to miss all of spring training and 81 games this season, it’s been anything but smooth sailing. 

During his struggles at the major-league level, there was a growing belief Gonzalez may have needed a longer rehab stint, in which he only tallied 18 at-bats between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, leading to a .111/.238/.278/.516 line. Gonzalez most likely wanted to get back sooner rather than later to help Boston’s lineup that could’ve greatly benefitted from his right-handed bat that put up career numbers in 2025. 

While the desire to get back for his teammates and help the club anyway he could was a commendable one, it also may have been what led to his option back to the minors as things never clicked for Gonzalez, who outside of an occasional clutch pinch-hit performance, looked continuously overmatched at the plate. He posted a ghastly .185 average, .572 OPS, 33.8 Whiff%, and a 37.8 Hard-Hit%, a far cry from his 57.3% in 2025 that had him sitting in the 99th percentile. 

The move from Gonzalez to White may make more sense when you look at it from a versatility standpoint as well. While White has primarily featured as an outfielder throughout his career, accumulating 1945.1 innings in 297 games across all three positions, he does have four games played at both second and first base, with 28 innings played at second and nine at first. The Red Sox will more than likely look to Nick Sogard and Anthony Seigler to man those positions with Gonzalez no longer on the roster, but it’s good to know White has the experience to be slotted into either spot if he is desperately needed.

Eli White Might Actually Be A Solution To Red Sox's Outfield Logjam

Speaking of the outfield, one would think a big reason why White was brought onboard is to give both Abreu and Rafaela some breathers down the stretch as the Red Sox continue their postseason push. In the case of Rafaela, while he continues to be Boston’s most consistent hitter not named Willson Contreras, you would have to image the coaching staff will be keeping a close eye on him as the second half progresses to avoid another late season nosedive like he had in 2025. Last year, he went from a pre-All-Star-Break line of .271/.314/.483/.797 with 14 HR, 48 RBI, and a wRC+ of 115, to slashing .218/.268/.319/.587 with just two homers, 15 RBI, and a 59 wRC+. 

As for Abreu, he may already be in the midst of his own 2025 Rafaela-esque drop off. While he has shown no signs of slowing down in the power department, with a .571 SLG, .853 OPS, and .371 ISO in the second half as opposed to his .428, .759, and .167 showings in the first, he has seen a massive decline in his batting average (.261 to .200), on base percentage (.332 to .282), BABIP (.306 to .136) and an increase in his K% (20.5% to 23.1%). Now, while the decrease in production from Abreu isn’t as drastic as Rafaela’s was a season ago, there have been numerous games where he just hasn’t looked right at the plate—borderline tired when looking for a word to use to describe it—even prompting NESN’s Lou Merloni to call for an occasional off day here and there. 

The addition of White gives the Red Sox a better option to do that with than they had prior to the trade. Nothing against either Jones or Yoshida, but with White bringing eight defensive runs saved (five in RF) and two outs above average as opposed to Yoshida’s negative three in both and Jones’ negative one defensive runs saved and negative two outs above average. There is a clear and obvious choice as to who should be patrolling right when Abreu needs a breather.

Eli White's True Value: A Menace on the Basepaths 

For the third and final reason Eli White is on this roster, let me ask Red Sox fans to remember the names Dave Roberts and Quintin Berry, although one of those is probably easier to remember than the other. That of course being Roberts, who during the 2004 playoffs appeared in three games for the Sox as a pinch runner, scored two runs, and stole maybe the most famous theft of second in MLB history, helping the Sox end their 86-year championship drought. As for Berry, he too appeared in three playoff games and stole three bases en route to the franchise’s eighth World Series title in 2013. 

All of this is a long-winded way to say Eli White could very well be on this team come playoff time if the Sox can get there, as a professional pinch runner thanks to a 30.3 mph sprint speed that has him in the 99th percentile. This is a role that some wondered if spring training standout Braiden Ward might be able to fill if he ended up as a September call-up that the Red Sox turned to. The idea doesn’t sound so far-fetched when you remember just this season, Ward broke the spring training record for the most steals in a campaign with 19 and also realize that he has stolen 50 bases at least in four of the last five seasons in the minors. 

Of course, there may be some who are weary to trust Ward in that spot given his lack of major-league experience, leading to the question of if Nate Eaton could just handle that job. However, in the case of Eaton, it may just come down to the fact that White has been a better, more dependable bat this year, with a .231/.283/.403/.686 line and 21.4 K% as opposed to Eaton’s .125/.282/.281/.563 line and 30.8 K%.   

It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox deploy White, and how often they plan to do so as the reports of returns for Trevor Story, Roman Anthony, Curtis Mead, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa begin to ramp up. For now, though, they will surely benefit from the age-old adage that it never hurts to have too much depth.

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[JoeBrady]

he has seen a massive decline in his batting average (.261 to .200),

It should be noted that the BA of .200 comes with an incredibly low .136 BABIP.  I agree with resting both him and Ceddanne, but the average is likely not a good reason why.

[Hitch]

He has good defence, has good speed, and plays all 3 positions.  If we trade Duran in the offseason as you'd imagine we will, he's the ideal 4th outfielder. 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, Hitch said:

He has good defence, has good speed, and plays all 3 positions.  If we trade Duran in the offseason as you'd imagine we will, he's the ideal 4th outfielder. 

He's likely better than Jones. He's a RHB.

We may find someone better, but I agree. He'd be fine as the 4th OFer.

[mvp 78]

It's simply to give Abreu a break. Nobody else on this ballclub can give him a day off. 

[Hitch]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

It's simply to give Abreu a break. Nobody else on this ballclub can give him a day off. 

And Raf when we trade Duran. 

[Ryan Salvaggio]

49 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

He's likely better than Jones. He's a RHB.

We may find someone better, but I agree. He'd be fine as the 4th OFer.

Agreed. His all around skillset makes him a better candidate than Jones, although he's been solid too. And although I like Nate Eaton and wouldn't mind seeing him as the 4th OFer, White obviously has more of a pedigree and is another veteran voice in the clubhouse with plenty of experience 

[notin]

He’s an older and less versatile Nate Eaton with a weaker (but still really strong) throwing arm.

 

[notin]

47 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

It's simply to give Abreu a break. Nobody else on this ballclub can give him a day off. 

Eaton?

[Nick John]

6 hours ago, notin said:

He’s an older and less versatile Nate Eaton with a weaker (but still really strong) throwing arm.

 

100% agree. It just, in my opinion, makes no sense to trade for White while Eaton is still in the organization. But we'll see what Breslow has planned. 

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, notin said:

Eaton?

Not worth adding him to the 40 for.