The Texas Rangers still have much work to do, but they put a small dent into their pitching needs by re-signing a pair of familiar names.
The club signed starter and sometimes long reliever Dane Dunning to a one-year, $2.66 million. The deal also includes performance clauses, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Dunning’s new deal is a 20% cut from his $3.25 million salary in 2024. Dunning, who turns 30 in December, had a 5.31 ERA in 95 innings over 26 appearances, including 15 starts. He finished 5-7 with 91 strikeouts. The year before, Dunning led Texas with 172 2/3 innings and was 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA over 35 appearances, including 26 starts in 2023.
Dunning was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock late in the season.
Teams aren’t allowed to offer contracts to their current players more than 20% less than their previous deal, according to the MLB collective bargaining agreement.
Reliever Josh Sborz, who struggled with shoulder issues throughout the 2024 season, signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal, a slight raise from his previous deal. Sborz had a debridement procedure on his right shoulder surgery in Los Angeles on Nov. 13. A debridement procedure involves thoroughly cleaning the wound and removing all hyperkeratotic (thickened skin or callus), infected, and nonviable (necrotic or dead) tissue, foreign debris, and residual material from dressings, according to healthline.com.
The Rangers are optimistic that Sborz, who turns 31 in December, will be available to pitch during the the first half of the 2025 season. Sborz had a 3.86 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings in 2024. In 2023, he had 66 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings while helping the Rangers win their first World Series.
