White was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 14th round of the 1970 MLB Draft out of San Francisco's Washington High School. He made his major league debut on September 16, 1974 at Montreal's Jarry Park, in a 3–2 Expos' loss to the New York Mets. His first full major league season came in 1976, as he hit .245 in 114 games with the Expos. On June 23, 1978, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs to complete an earlier deal made on June 9, 1978, in which the Expos acquired pitcher Woodie Fryman as the player to be named later.