White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning has undergone Tommy John surgery, the club announced to reporters including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He’ll miss the entire 2019 season and, in all likelihood, some of the 2020 campaign as well.
This news isn’t surprising given the course of recent events. The club had acknowledged that replacement of Dunning’s ulnar collateral ligament was a possibility.
Dunning was generally considered one of the game’s hundred or so best overall prospects, even after his otherwise excellent 2018 campaign ended with elbow issues. Before that development, which ultimately proved a precursor to today’s procedure, Dunning had spun 86 1/3 innings of 2.71 ERA ball at the High-A and Double-A levels. He recorded 10.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in that stretch while drawing grounders on more than half the balls put in play against him.
RKH03
White sox getting very unlucky with their prospects
kenleyfornia2
They hit the jackpot on their Quintana return but Sale and Eaton trades were really bad.
NerdPowahh
How can you hit the jackpot when Jimenez hasn’t stepped foot in the majors yet?
twentyforty
Nor has Cease.
ChiSox_Fan
What has Q done for you lately? Did Cubs win the WS last year?
Likely Cubs 3rd place finish this year.
The prospects were not expected to be immediate impact players.
ReverieDays
Likely the Cubs win about 30 more games than the White Sox this year.
petrie000
What has Q done? Actually, you know, played meaningful games?
mike127
Fire away ChiSox—-troll away on the Cubs on an article about the Sox. The prospects you speak of are supposed to be immediate impact players—much like Bryant, Schwarber, Almora—all who won a World Series in the amount of time that Dunning, Eloy, Cease, Giolito, Moncada, etc have been around for with the Sox organization. Kenley started this by actually saying the Sox hit the jackpot in with the Quntana return.
getright11
Likely lmao
kenleyfornia2
I know White Sox and Cubs fans tend to be at each others throats. Wasn’t trying to start anything. Just my neutral opinion. Its pretty clear at this point Eloy is a lot more valuable than Q and i think we all know that
ChiSox_Fan
Doubt Cubs will win 60 more than ChiSox.
ChiSox_Fan
Schwarber and Almora rode coat tails. Did nothing to win WS.
Bryant cannot slide and will likely play less than 80 games this year.
Bryant talks kinda whiney too. What’s up with that?!
mike127
I will type this slowly for you ChiSox—-Schwarber, Almora, Bryant all won a World Series by this time—-Bryant a ROY and MVP also——keep defending….and by the way—-the Sox selected Rodón before Schwarber in that draft—-Rodón has no World Series wins. ps—-Schwarber, Bryant, Almora—-all huge contributors in the 10th inning of game 7 of the 2016 series. All of them.
petrie000
Depends on how you define ‘valuable’. From a trade prrspective, sure, Eloy wins. From a production standpoint? Quintana has him beat by miles.
NerdPowahh
Jimenez has more value because he is a prospect. This is true of all prospects in all sports.
However, at the end of the day, it’s still only potential. Hence why so many guys flame out or fail to achieve that potential. Number 1 prospect Moncada says to hold his Gatorade.
BTW If you were a White Sox fan, would you have any faith in development judging on say the past 10 years or more?
petrie000
Honestly, if I were a Sox fan I’d buy all the hype… Lord knows there’s nothing else to cling to right now
CubsRule08
Schwarber did nothing in the World Series? He hit over .400 and that’s after coming back from tearing the ACL is his knee in the 3rd game of the season.
If you’re gonna troll, make yourself look informative and not stupid, ChiSox_Fan.
cardsfan006
In think Moncada will be worth it soon you watch. He adjusted his swing and everything and is hitting over .300.
ChiSox_Fan
Schwarber waiting for a trade to AL or implemented change to NL DH rule.
That’s all Schwarber has to look forward to. He stumbles around the OF like he is drunk.
petrie000
and yet was somehow one of the top defensive left fielders in baseball last year
either the metrics are laughably wrong, or you are. i know where my money is…
ChiSox_Fan
Yes, Eloy is the next Babe Ruth.
Cubs let Eloy go just like Lou Brock years ago!
Ha ha!
ChiSox_Fan
What did they do the other 9 innings?!
Time for your mama to bathe you and to put you to bed.
Past your bedtime.
petrie000
losing out on Machado really took a lot out of you, man. you used to attempt to be at least coherent…
Priggs89
Say what you want about the Sox rebuild, but saying Schwarber and Almora have been “impact players” and putting them in the same thought as Kris Bryant is a joke at best. I’ll give you Bryant – he’s a superstar when healthy (and he has been since the day he was drafted; a no-brainer pick btw). Schwarber has been average to slightly above average thus far, and Almora has done absolutely nothing.
Tim Newport
Schwarber would be helped more by the 3 batter rule that would effectively ban the one hitter lefty reliever.
Thuggababyy
The cross town Chicago beef is real lol
whitesoxfan24
Actually, you’re wrong Mike. Bryant was called up in his third year with the organization (2015). This will be Eloy’s third year with the White Sox.
Bryant won a World Championship with the Cubs in 2016. Therefore, that “same timeframe” you’re talking about doesn’t even exist yet.
Get your facts straight. Cubs fans are the absolute worst. Have a team, that spends, a beautiful ballpark and a competitive team but instead of enjoying it, they have to put down the White Sox or Sox fans. Get stepping boys. Theo got fleeced on that Q trade. Simple as that. All GM’s have bad trades, look at Hahn sending Tatis Jr for Shields. At least look in the mirror and be real with yourselves Cubs fans. Clowns.
PopeMarley
I’ll take the OVER on that!
mike127
@ Priggs—way fair enough on the definition of “impact”…that was a knee jerk reaction on the ChiSox continued trolling on the Cubs, even on a Sox story—of all Sox fans you are easily the most realistic. Certainly would never put Schwarber nor Almora in the Bryant realm at this point. But, well ahead of the “impact” that the Sox prospects have made. And to the no brainer point on Bryant—he wasn’t a no brainer to another team. Always respect your opinion and thoughts, Priggs. And willing to eat humble pie when I step over the line….even if it is knee jerk.
Bryzzo2016
There is ZERO chance the Cubs win 60 more games than the W Sox. First off, the W Sox play in the worst division in baseball while the Cubs play in the best division in baseball. Second, 60 games is a LOT. For this to even be somewhat realistic, the W Sox would have to lose 130 games next year, that’s insane. Some of you guys are out of control.
Jockstrapper
“Likely 3rd place finish this year.”
You wish. White Sox: Guaranteed Last Place finish.
Jockstrapper
Man you’re a salty, dope. You love them Cubbies don’t ya!
GoSoxGo
No, that may have been the early Schwarber, but he’s continued to improve in the field. Didn’t he lead the league in outfield assist in 2018?
sss847
yeah eaton missing 80% of the last 2 seasons really worked out for the nats.
nmendoza7
He’s doing better than Giolito or Dunning right now, so.
Konerko 4 Prez
Not Lopez.
Konerko 4 Prez
It’s a little early to judge any of those trades.
kenleyfornia2
Its not at all too early to judge those trades. This is about to be the 3rd season since they happened
ChiSox_Fan
Where do I send my contributions to Konerko Presidential fund?
sss847
@ChiSox_Fan don’t send it to jerry, we’ll never see that money again
tgallagher
How can say that at this point? Two young starters in their rotation came from the Eaton deal, who by the way is always hurt. Moncada will be a good one as I believe will Kopech and Basabe.
kenleyfornia2
Being young doesn’t mean good. Giolito is horrible. Sale is a top 5 SP in baseball you need more than an underachieving Moncada and some lottery tickets
Priggs89
Oh no, Moncada was league average in his first full season despite not having a legitimate approach at the plate. He’s the worst player in the history of baseball. Oh god, the world is ending. #bust
jdgoat
I think Lopez is still a nice high quality piece they got back for Eaton. And Kopech, Dunning, and Moncada still can make those deals look good. Giolito probably is what he is though. Nats were right to sell high on him, they probably just bought the wrong piece.
Priggs89
I think it was pretty well known at the time that Lopez/Dunning were on the rise at the time of the trade and Giolito was on the way down. Giolito not turning into a dominant starter isn’t surprising to anybody. He lost that “potential ace” status once his fastball dropped to the low-90s.
Strauss
It makes you wonder if Dunning and Kopech aren’t pissed that they were sent to the White Sox. Who’s next for to surgery?
CalcetinesBlancos
The Sale trade might pan out well still, but the Eaton trade has already been won with how much he’s been hurt.
Djones246890
I wouldn’t jump the gun and say they “hit the jackpot.” Dude just got done hitting a pitcher-like .154.
todd76
So since he hasn’t thrown a Mlb pitch the White Sox should still have 6 years of Mlb control once he full recovers and gets called up.
NerdPowahh
At least the White Sox signed Machado in the offseason to offset this bad news.
ChiSox_Fan
Foolish
Downvote!
jdgoat
At least they got his friend Jon Jay.
KingRyan227
Don’t forget about Yonder
matt4baseball
It’s a big loss to us fans with all these young elite prospects having to have TJ so early in their careers.
ChiSox_Fan
The TJ athletes will come back stronger than ever. History supports that.
Sox will win 3 WS during 2021-2025
nsmith12641
Lol
nsmith12641
To clarify the Lol was meant for the final comment about World Series wins.
Cat Mando
ChiSox_Fan
“The TJ athletes will come back stronger than ever. History supports that.”
tht.fangraphs.com/tommy-john-surgery-success-rates…
No it doesn’t. You are embarrassing yourself with this foolishness and “Yes, Eloy is the next Babe Ruth.” and “Sox will win 3 WS during 2021-2025”
pplama
Rebuild, off.
ChiSox_Fan
Sox should pick up Gio Gonzalez.
stymeedone
why? is he having arm problems, too?
Priggs89
Finally. Should’ve done this 6 months ago.
Tim Newport
When one prospect gets injured, it’s bad luck. When one after another after another gets injured, something is seriously wrong.
When one prospect fails, it’s understandable. When your system fails to provide quality major league players year after year after year, something is seriously wrong. Yes, of course there was Chris Sale…he was lucky to zoom right past the Sox development staff.
Who can you point to anywhere in the entire White Sox structure who has been doing such a good job that some other team may want to hire him away from the Sox? Who is doing such a good job that he should even keep his job with the White Sox?
NerdPowahh
Jerry Reinsdorf will live to a 110…Just watch
petrie000
He feeds off misery and suffering to sustain his unnatural life
NerdPowahh
And he owns both the Bulls and White Sox.
Yikes.
ChiSox_Fan
And Bulls will showcase Zion next year.
Worst to first next year for the Bulls!
NerdPowahh
Seeing as this is the same ownership, they’ll trade the rights to Zion Williamson for the NBA equivalent of James Shields.
thurmanmerman33
Here’s hoping that Michael Reinsdorf has no friends he promised GM jobs too…
Priggs89
Omar Vizquel appears to be pretty good at his job. Looking forward to him being the big league manager within the next 2 years.
pplama
What do you like the most: running his team into outs, forbidding Robert from pulling the ball no matter what count, pitch or situation, or being totally clueless when asked to take the Angels’ managerial test because it contained questions on advanced metrics?
Priggs89
All of the above
pplama
Then why replace Renteria? He already manages the team like it’s 1988.
Djones246890
It’s a Reinsdorf organization, which means it’s extremely poorly run, and there’s little-to-no accountability. He also owns the Bulls, and they are also often-injured. Coincidence? I think not.
maximumvelocity
These stories really should note that TJS was on the table when they shut him down last year.
Instead, they wasted a full year of Dunning’s potential development for no valid reason.
mamss
The reasoning was valid, they wanted to prevent Tommy John surgery. Didn’t work out but the reasoning was sound at the time.
petrie000
I actually agree with that. If a trained medical professional tells you there’s other options, might as well try the other options
pplama
“no valid reason”
Except Dr. James Andrews advising against surgery.
maximumvelocity
Is that what he did, or did he lay out several options, which included rehab?
Because as I remember, his strain last year was already borderline for TJS, and not guaranteed to heal.
pplama
No
IronBallsMcGinty
Sigh, the AL Central is easily winnable and the Sox, in typical fashion are unprepared. At this rate, Harper’s contract will be half over before this rebuild is finished and the Sox are ready to compete.
Sorry for the negativity but seriously, it’s frustrating seeing your team at levels less than mediocre.
*sigh…. GO SOX!
SupremeZeus
As expected. Rebuild taking hits. He isn’t accruing ML time. So armchair sox GMs have that going for them.
MikeyHammer
Sure he didn’t get Elton John surgery with those crazy specs ?
Tim Newport
This is the first comment ever on MLBTR that actually made me laugh…
retire21
Elton John Surgery would be FABULOUS !
Afterwards,
The Pitch is Back!
Bryzzo2016
Ok, this is like kicking a man while he’s down. First Kopech, now Dunning. Not cool. I’m obviously not a W Sox fan, but I hate seeing stuff like this. I genuinely wish this kid a successful recovery and I hope him and Kopech come back stronger than ever. Thankfully they’re both young.
Nats Town
Eaton trade is looking like a wet fart for both teams
pullhitter445
Exactly why you go get 26 year old proven stars when they are available. White Sox and Jerry reinsdorf think they can just copy the cubs and Astros by accumulating several prospects. White Sox are a complete joke of an organization. Each year become more and more frustrating being a fan of them. I’m glad nobody goes to the games, no shot I’ll support the way this team is run. I’ll go see eloy a few times and when good teams worth watching come to town for $10. Other than that no interest in supporting anyone in ownership or front office, a bunch of bums.
Djones246890
Pretty much. The blueprint the Cubs laid out is not something that ANY organization can do.
They need to be competent, accountable, and actually know what they’re doing.
You can guess how I feel about the Sox as an organization.
ChiSoxCity
Shoulder/arm injuries have been a common problem with pitchers throughout the league, not just the Sox. Pitching prospects (vets too) have been going under the knife at an alarming rate.
Bryzzo2016
Yep, true. Sadly it’s becoming a trend over the last 15 years or so. Some organizations have been able to dodge that bullet, but not many. Again, these two are very young, no reason to think they won’t have a successful recovery. I hate seeing this stuff, no matter what team they play for.
Djones246890
These young kids are made of glass, nowadays. I’m not kidding. It’s the weak soyboy revolution.
Idioms for Idiots
About all you can do is hope for a full recovery for Dunning. And about the only blessing (if you want to call it that) is by the time Dunning should be ready for the Sox, Rodon will either already be gone or will be in his last season with the Sox, so Dunning will just take his spot in the rotation.
Since I don’t have time to comment on everyone’s post, let’s stop with trying to already declare winners and losers on the Sale, Eaton, and Q trades. I wouldn’t declare anything for at least 3 more seasons. Well, except Boston. No matter what happens, Boston can be considered a winner, since I don’t think Boston wins the WS without Sale. It could end up a win-win for both teams, but Boston got a ring with Sale, so they are winners at least on their end.
It’s way too early to declare winners and losers in these trades. Eloy & Cease haven’t even played a MLB game yet. Ditto for Basabe and (obviously) Dunning. Kopech got all of 4 games (2 truncated by rain). Moncada looked bad last year, but it’s too early to declare him a bust. Let’s at least see what Moncada does this year. Lopez could go either way from here, but at least it looks encouraging for him. Even Giolito could potentially figure it out (which I’m not holding my breath on that one). I think I got everyone (except the throw-ins who will never make it past AA ball).
petrie000
How dare you ask for patience and perspective?! This is the internet, good sir!
ChiSoxCity
After the cubs get blown up and rebooted midseason, remember you said this. lol
petrie000
I have a fairly good memory, fortunately. Or in your case unfortunately, mister ‘Kris Bryant hasn’t achieved anything because of declining RBI totals’…