Last night, the Atlanta Braves traded for Texas Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning in exchange for veteran reliever José Ruiz and some cash. They designated Jesse Chavez for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
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Who is Dane Dunning?
Dunning’s most notable season came in 2023 when he was a key piece in the Rangers’ World Series Championship run. He started 26 games and made nine appearances out of the bullpen. He finished the year with a 3.70 ERA over 172.2 innings for the Rangers.
Last season, he posted a 5.31 ERA over 26 appearances. Texas tendered him a contract, but he was forced to take a pay cut, which rarely happens. Dunning made the Rangers regret the $2.66 million salary they gave him by having a very poor spring performance this season, allowing 10 runs in 11 innings.
Texas put him on waivers at the end of the spring, but nobody picked him up. He began the year in Triple-A Round Rock in the PCL League. Dunning has a 4.47 ERA over 46.1 innings in Triple-A this year. He also has a 3.38 ERA over just 10.2 innings of work in the big leagues.
Why I Say “One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure”
The Rangers have placed Dunning on waivers twice this season, and nobody claimed him. Now, they’ve flipped him to the Braves for a veteran reliever and cash. The Rangers had given up on Dane Dunning, and this move was purely a salary dump.
The Braves recently optioned Daysbel Hernandez to make room for fresh arms to help cover the bullpen game just before the All-Star break. Adding another arm capable of eating innings should assist with the roster gymnastics they have been playing since Spencer Schwellenbach and Chris Sale hit the IL.
Does Trading For Dane Dunning Mean the Braves are Trying to Contend?
Not really, no. I mean, we all hope they can pull off a miracle and climb back into contention. We’ve seen plenty of such miracles in the wonderful game of baseball. However, Talkin’ Tomahawk’s Alan Carpenter recently explained how, at this point, it would behoove the Braves to stay under the luxury tax for a third-straight season.
Read Our Guide to MLB’s Competitive Balance Tax
Will Dane Dunning be a Starter for the Braves?
The Braves need an arm that can take up some innings, likely on bullpen days. The Rangers have not been using him as a starter at the big-league level, although he has 11 starts in Triple-A this year. It is also worth noting that Dane Dunning has two saves in very limited appearances with the Rangers this season. That’s something to keep in mind if the Braves trade Raisel Iglesias. The Rangers have used him in some high-leverage spots… very sparingly.
Will Dane Dunning Be With the Braves in 2026?
Dunning has one more year of arbitration in 2026, so if he can be somewhat productive, there is a chance he sticks around for next season to provide much-needed starting pitching depth.
Will Dane Dunning Trade Put Braves Over Luxury Tax Threshold?
Our very own Alan Carpenter shared his analysis, “While the Braves are taking on the remainder of Dunning’s salary for 2025, which adds $1,029,667 according to the Cots/BaseballProspectus site, it still does not subject them to broaching the first luxury tax threshold. That site calculates that Atlanta remains comfortably below the threshold by roughly $5.7 million.”
“Dunning gets a chance to audition for Atlanta; perhaps the scenery change will help. He was once a highly-regarded prospect, drafted 29th overall by the Nationals in 2016 out of the University of Florida. However, he has been used only sparingly by the Rangers this month — 5.2 innings.”
Conclusion
What do you think about the trade for Dane Dunning? Let us know in the comments!
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