The Boston Red Sox added Eli White and sent Tyler Uberstine to the Atlanta Braves in a deadline-day move that gives Boston a versatile outfield option and Atlanta another right-handed pitcher to develop. Mark Feinsand reported the trade.
White, 32, can handle all three outfield spots, which is the kind of flexibility Boston has been shopping for as it pushes through the final stretch of the season. He appeared in 69 games for Atlanta this year and hit.233 with five home runs, six doubles, one triple and 17 RBI in 133 at-bats. Atlanta also had a reason to listen: despite White matching his previous career high with five home runs, the club had enough outfield depth to move him.
The trade landed on a Monday when the Red Sox entered at 60-51 after winning five straight and sitting five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. That timing matters because Boston is still close enough to chase a division race, and every bench piece now carries more weight than it did in April. White fits that need as a player who can move around the outfield and give a contender cover without forcing a larger lineup change.
His season also showed why Atlanta could part with him and why Boston had reason to pay for him. White hit only.143 with a.213 on-base percentage in 56 home at-bats at Truist Park, but he also went 3 for 5 in Atlanta’s July 29 doubleheader against the New York Mets and added a double against the Baltimore Orioles four days before the deal. He has hit four of his five home runs against National League opponents, and across 345 career games he owns a.212 average with 25 home runs, 84 RBI and 117 runs scored.
Atlanta entered Monday at 67-45 with an eight-game edge in the NL East and a five-game winning streak, so the club could afford to trade from the edges while keeping the core intact. Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Mike Yastrzemski and Mauricio Dubón were among the other outfield options already available, which is why White was movable even after a productive stretch. For Boston, the move is the cleaner part of the deal: a useful depth bat now, while Tyler Uberstine goes to Atlanta with no immediate role spelled out beyond the basics of a right-handed pitcher on the other side of the exchange.
