The Texas Rangers have traded pitcher Dane Dunning to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Jose Ruiz and cash considerations, the team announced last night. Ruiz is not on the 40 man roster, and so the Rangers’ 40 man roster now stands at 38.
The Braves, incidentally, designated our old friend Jesse Chavez for assignment to clear a 40 man roster spot for Dunning.
Its a sad ending to Dunning’s time with the club. Acquired, along with pitcher Avery Weems, from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Lance Lynn
after the 2020 season, Dunning had a couple of seasons of okay back-of-the-rotation level performance in 2021 and 2022 before being named the Rangers’ Pitcher of the Year in 2023, when he had a 3.70 ERA in 26 starts and nine relief appearances over 172.2 IP, totaling 2.7 bWAR.
Dunning was neither healthy nor productive in 2024, however, and has spent most of the 2025 season in the minors for the Rangers. In five appearances in the bigs, he has had a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 IP, and has been outrighted twice.
Dunning is still owed roughly $1 million for the remainder of 2025, while Ruiz is owed roughly $500,000. How much of the $500,000 is being subsidized by the Braves’ cash considerations is unknown, though it wouldn’t surprise me if the answer was most (or all) of it.
Ruiz was claimed off of waivers by the Braves from the Philadelphia Phillies back in early June. He only made two appearances for the Braves before being put on waivers, clearing waivers, and being outrighted to AAA. In 18 major league appearances this year, Ruiz has an 8.82 ERA in 16.1 IP, with a 5.29 FIP. In 282 career major league games, he has a 4.62 ERA in 286.2 IP.
This move appears to be at least in part 40 man roster motivated. Rowdy Tellez is expected to be added to the 40 man roster today, which will put the 40 man roster at 39. Jon Gray is expected to make his final rehab start on Saturday, which would mean he would be activated from the 60 day injured list late next week, and moving Dunning means there’s now an open 40 man roster spot for Gray to step into. Josh Sborz is also likely to return from the 60 day injured list in the next couple of weeks, which will also necessitate a 40 man spot being cleared.
The Braves have, in the past few seasons, taken on quite a few players who have been squeezed off the Rangers’ 40 man roster. Along with Dunning, the Braves have either claimed on waivers or acquired in exchange for nominal consideration Jonathan Ornelas, J.P. Martinez, Taylor Hearn, Eli White, Dennis Santana and Kolby Allard.
