The Texas Rangers announced on Thursday that they’ve traded pitcher Dane Dunning to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for pitcher José Ruiz and some cash.
Dunning pitched in five games for Texas this season, all out of the bullpen. While he didn’t get a win or loss, he posted a solid 3.38 ERA, with 10 strikeouts and 5 walks over 10.2 innings.
However, he lost his spot in the team’s plans after a shaky spring training, where he gave up a lot of runsfinishing with an 8.18 ERA in five games (one as a starter). Despite 14 strikeouts in 11 innings, the inconsistency led to him being designated for assignment twice, though no team claimed him. So, the Rangers sent him back down to Triple-A Round Rock.
Dunning’s best stretch with the Rangers came in 2023, when he shifted to a long-relief role and thrived. Later that year, he returned to the starting rotation after Jacob deGrom went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
In his place, Dunning went 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 35 games (26 starts), with 140 strikeouts and 55 walks in 172.2 innings. The Rangers won their first World Series with Dunning as part of the pitching staff.
He was the Washington Nationals’ first-round pick (No. 29 overall) in the 2016 MLB draft out of Florida. The now 30-year-old was dealt to the Chicago White Sox in 2016 in a deal that sent him, along with Reynaldo López and Lucas Giolito to the White Sox for Adam Eaton.
Before the 2021 season, he was traded to the Rangers for Lance Lynn.
As Texas gets ready to try to make the playoffs for the second time in three years, Ruiz provides a veteran bullpen arm.
After being assigned, he joined Atlanta in June after beginning the season with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ruiz appeared in 18 relief games for the Braves and Phillies. In 16.1 innings pitched, he was 1-0 with an 8.82 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and 9 walks. At the time of the deal, he was with the Triple-A affiliate in Atlanta. He has pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego, and the Chicago White Sox in the Major Leagues.