The Braves and Red Sox announced a swap of right-hander Tyler Uberstine for outfielder Eli White. Uberstine’s involvement was first reported by Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe was first on White being the return. Atlanta optioned Uberstine to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Uberstine has one major league appearance. He tossed 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts and a walk against San Diego on April 5. The 27-year-old righty has otherwise spent the season with Triple-A Worcester, missing most of the season due to shoulder soreness. He has turned in a 2.81 ERA across 32 innings in a long relief role in Triple-A, striking out 29% of opponents against an 8.5% walk rate.
A former 19th round pick, Uberstine secured a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster last offseason after pitching to a 3.58 ERA across 120 2/3 minor league innings. He doesn’t throw particularly hard but mixes five pitches and has advanced control. Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him 21st in the Boston farm system in May, calling him a potential depth starter or long reliever. He’s in his first of three option years and begins his Atlanta tenure with Gwinnett.
White is out of options and will need to join Boston’s MLB roster. He’s a right-handed hitting outfielder, though unlike fellow out-of-options outfielder Jahmai Jones, he doesn’t have much success against lefty pitching. White is a speed and defense player who has neutral platoon numbers and is a career .212/.270/.353 hitter.
That includes a .233/.285/.406 slash across 144 plate appearances this year. He doesn’t steal a ton of bases but remains one of the league’s fastest players at age 32. Boston will assume the remainder of White’s $900K arbitration salary. He’s under club control for two seasons beyond this one.
