Dane Dunning has reportedly been placed on outright waivers
The Texas Rangers have placed pitcher Dane Dunning on outright waivers, per Joel Sherman on Twitter. Any team willing to take on Dunning and his salary for 2025 — $2.66 million — can have him for the waiver price. If Dunning clears waivers, the Rangers can outright him to the minors.
This is a surprising move. Dunning has had a disappointing camp on the heels of a rough 2024 season, but still, I think the expectation was that he would be a long man in the bullpen, or else be optioned to AAA. By putting Dunning on outright waivers, the Rangers clear a spot on the 40 man roster — something that they would not do if they optioned him — but risk losing him altogether.
This would seem to indicate that Dunning will not be on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster. Caleb Boushley, Patrick Murphy, Marc Church and Gerson Garabito are the pitchers who would seem to be vying for the final two bullpen spots at this point, with Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker in the rotation to start the year. With teams making decisions in advance of the start of the season in a few days, the Rangers could also end up snagging a player who opts out of his minor league deal with another club.