Seattle Mariners first baseman Evan White to undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia
PEORIA, Ariz. – Evan White’s return to the field and resumption of his development will be interrupted by surgery again.
On Saturday morning, White said a recent MRI revealed he had a sports hernia and surgery will be needed.
White is in the process of deciding on a surgeon and scheduling a date for the procedure, which he wants to happen as soon as possible. He is currently considering the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia, which specializes in hernia surgeries under the direction of Dr. William Meyers, or the Pacific Coast Hernia Center and Dr. William Hutchinson.
While White was obviously frustrated about the revelation from the MRI, there was a sense of relief in knowing in what was causing him the discomfort.
“I was fine until I stepped on the baseball field and had to react or move from side to side,” he said.
The typical recovery time for a sports hernia surgery is six to eight weeks. Given the rigors of baseball on the core area and that White is a professional athlete, the Mariners will make sure he doesn’t rush his recovery.
“He’s going to miss some time,” manager Scott Servais said. “I don’t know all the specifics. Since you’ve talked to him, it does me no good to say a whole lot. I know he’s going to see somebody else to break down the recoveries and the procedure.”
White was looking at the 2022 season to restart his development toward being an every-day MLB player after missing almost all of the 2021 season due to a torn labrum in his hip and losing his starting first-baseman job to Ty France.
White suffered a left hip flexor strain on May 13, 2021, while diving for a ball in Minnesota. At the time, it didn’t seem that serious. But when the hip was slow to respond to months of treatment and rehab, White opted for surgery to fix the issue, ending his season. He played in 30 games, posting a .144/.202/.237 slash line with three doubles, two homers, nine RBI, six walks and 31 strikeouts.
After signing a 6-year, $24 million contract in November 2019, he made the leap from Class AA to the big leagues for the COVID-shortened 2021 season. He played in 54 games of the 60 games as a rookie, posting a .176/.252/.346 slash line with seven doubles, eight homers, 26 RBI, 18 walks and 84 strikeouts in 202 plate appearances. But he was superb defensively winning the American League Gold Glove at first base.
With the injury in 2021, White wasn’t able to get the plate appearances to prove he could be a competent big league hitter. He was likely headed for Class AAA Tacoma to start this season where he could work on changes to his swing and approach without the pressure of MLB games. That plan is now on hold.
“It is not ideal,” Servais said. “I feel for him. He missed a lot of time. He wants to get out there and play and get things going in the right direction again.”
Note
The Mariners cut three more players from spring training, re-assigning left-handed pitcher Roenis Elias, right-handed pitcher Devin Sweet and catcher Jake Anchia to minor league camp.
Elias, who is a year removed from Tommy John surgery, threw a live batting practice session on Saturday. He could be ready to help the Mariners bullpen by May 1.