After years of building for the future and loading up on prospects, the time has finally come for the White Sox to ship a high-level prospect away.
The White Sox reportedly dealt Dane Dunning and Avery Weems to the Texas Rangers for Lance Lynn. News of the trade circulated around national beat writers late Monday night and became official Tuesday afternoon.
Lynn is 33 and on the last year of a three-year, $30 million deal. He originally came up with the St. Louis Cardinals and posted a 3.66 ERA in six years with the Red Birds. He struggled with Minnesota and the New York Yankees in 2018 before landing with Texas and bouncing back. That Lynn put up solid numbers in the hitters’ haven of Texas the last two years (3.57 ERA, 335 strikeouts, 84 walks in 292 1/3 innings) should not be overlooked.
Dunning goes the other way and it’s easy to notice what the move does to the White Sox rotation. As promising as Dunning was as a rookie, the White Sox had him on a short leash in Game 3 of the Wild Card series in Oakland. Lynn joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel to form a proven top three starters, which is essential for a team with playoff expectations. This comes with the risk of Lynn being a one-year rental if he bolts in free agency.
For Texas, it’s easy to view this as a long-term gain. Dunning came back from Tommy John surgery last year and made his MLB debut on August 19. He made seven starts and posted a 3.97 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 13 walks in 34 innings. Considering he was coming off major surgery, skipped Triple-A and made his MLB debut, it’s hard to say Dunning’s 2020 was anything but a success.
Dunning started that decisive Game 3 in Oakland, but was yanked after giving up two hits against four batters. The ugly way that game unfolded for the White Sox could be the main impetus for the trade. Instead of banking on continued development from Dunning, Michael Kopech or Dylan Cease, the White Sox traded some of their longer-term future to solidify the third spot in the rotation. Dunning doesn’t have the high-end upside of Kopech, or even possibly Cease, but he was living up to his billing as a safer bet to be a solid MLB starter.
Weems is an interesting sleeper pick up for the Rangers. He struggled in college at Arizona, a traditionally strong program, but was taken in the sixth round in 2019. The White Sox needed to save money in the later part of the first 10 rounds after picking up high schoolers Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist in rounds two and three. Weems was a senior lefty who signed for $10,000.
However, he caught some attention by simply dominating rookie ball. He posted a 0.77 ERA in four starts in the Arizona League before he moved up to Great Falls (RIP). In 47 1/3 innings with the Voyagers, Weems struck out 60 and walked seven to go with a 2.47 ERA. The thing is, he’s now 23 and hasn’t pitched above rookie ball (thank the pandemic for that). Weems didn’t make the cut for our most recent top 30 prospect rankings, but it’s easy to see something there if Weems made some positive adjustments after being drafted.
There could be more big moves to come for the White Sox. Adding a proven, veteran starting pitcher was one item on the check list for the White Sox this offseason. Right field, perhaps DH, and some bullpen help are likely remaining priorities.
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