The Athletics will call up Tommy White for Friday’s series opener against the Nationals, and the rookie infielder will make his major league debut the same day. The move gives the club a new bat to try in a roster that is being reshaped at the same time.
White, who played at LSU, was selected in the second round of the 2024 draft and has moved through the minors with a line of.279/.337/.430 over 860 professional plate appearances. He has been better this year at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit.303/.345/.489 in 55 games, and he has done some of his loudest damage against left-handed pitching, posting a.376/.438/.576 mark in the minors this season.
The call-up comes with some obvious questions still hanging over the fit. White has struck out in 14% of his plate appearances this year and walked at a 4.8% clip, numbers that help explain why some evaluators have not treated him as a finished hitter despite the production. His work at third base has also been viewed as below average but playable, which is why the Athletics have been getting a look at Joshua Kuroda-Grauer as their primary third baseman while Eric Longenhagen wrote in April that White could be a plus defender at first base.
That leaves the debut role unresolved. White has split his time between the corner infield spots, and the Athletics have enough roster movement in play to keep the picture fluid: Donovan Walton is being activated, Joey Meneses and Brian Serven are going to Triple-A, and Brent Rooker’s season-ending injury opens a path for White to be added even though he is not on the 40-man roster. The club also recently placed Nick Kurtz on the injured list, adding another layer to the shuffle.
For White, Friday is less a finish line than an opening door. The Athletics are giving him his first look in MLB with a roster spot available and a left-handed pitching match-up that suits his minor league track record, but whether that first appearance comes at third base, first base or as a designated hitter is still the detail left to settle.
