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Dane Dunning

AL Notes: Dunning, Andrus, Norris

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White Sox righty Dane Dunning recently discussed his Tommy John rehab work with MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The 24-year-old has begun light throwing, but that’s just the start of a lengthy rebuilding process. He’s hoping to be ready for game action by early June, which would be about 15 months after his procedure. It is certainly possible that the highly regarded hurler could have an impact in the majors as soon as 2020, though odds are that he’ll spend more time regaining his footing in the upper minors. Dunning’s sterling 2018 showing was cut short by forearm issues that ultimately ended in the operating room. But he has already shown he can thrive at the Double-A level. When he is able to make it back, Dunning says he hopes to have an even “stronger foundation” to work from. He says he’s stronger, more aware of how to care for his body, and better prepared “to maintain a healthier balance through the season.”

More from the American League …

  • With the Rangers continuing a tricky roster balancing act, the play of shortstop Elvis Andrus remains a key factor. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines the 31-year-old’s status as the 2019 campaign winds to a close. The organization can count on his three-year, $43MM future contract obligations remaining on the books, as Andrus has little reason to exercise his opt-out clause after an underwhelming season. While it’s a manageable-enough sum of money, it’d look a whole lot more palatable if Andrus was hitting near the league-average rate and performing better in the field. Instead, he has hovered at about twenty percent below average in productivity with the bat while showing inconsistency with his glove.
  • Tigers southpaw Daniel Norris has been a bright spot in a dismal season in Detroit, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Norris is being handled with care down the stretch since he was so limited last season, which reflects the fact that the organization is invested in the 26-year-old’s future. To be sure, it’s not as if Norris has dominated. He has turned in stronger results of late but only owns a 4.70 ERA in 126 1/3 frames to date. As McCosky explains in detail, though, Norris has made some strides that have created a sense of optimism. The club will owe him a raise on his $1.275MM arbitration salary.

Dane Dunning Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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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.

White Sox Shut Down Dane Dunning

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White Sox prospect Dane Dunning has been shut down after experiencing renewed discomfort while working through a throwing program, general manager Rick Hahn revealed to reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin). As if that wasn’t ominous enough, Dunning is slated to meet with Dr. James Andrews this week, and Hahn was candid about the ominous nature of his injury. “Everything is on the table including a potential Tommy John surgery,” the GM said.

The 24-year-old Dunning was the third piece acquired in the trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals, joining fellow righties Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito. He’s elevated his prospect status since the time of that deal, currently checking in at No. 80 on MLB.com’s ranking of the game’s Top 100 prospects. Baseball Prospectus ranked him 76th this winter, while he currently checks in just outside the Top 100 (No. 121) on Fangraphs’ rankings.

Last year, Dunning opened the season at Class-A Advanced and moved up to Double-A after four starts — excelling at both levels. His 2018 season was cut short by an elbow sprain, but when he was healthy enough to take the mound, he worked to a terrific 2.71 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent. In 86 1/3 innings of work, Dunning yielded just two home runs.

Should Dunning require Tommy John surgery, he’d be the second of the White Sox’ top-rated arms to sit out the 2019 campaign while rehabbing a UCL replacement. Righty Michael Kopech underwent the same operation late in the 2018 campaign and won’t be back on the mound for the organization until the 2020 season. Sox fans have been dreaming of a rotation headlined by Kopech, Dunning and fellow highly touted right-hander Dylan Cease, but that the timeline to that potential reality continues to be pushed back by injury troubles.

AL Central Notes: Hanley, Sano, Dunning, Tigers

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Hanley Ramirez spoke to The Athletic’s Zack Meisel about his comeback bid with the Indians (subscription required), revealing that he had offers to join clubs following his release from the Red Sox last May. At the time, Ramirez told his agent that he preferred to take the remainder of the season to “get my body healthy and come back next year.” Informed that doing so would likely mean settling for a minor league contract — which proved spot on — Ramirez simply said he trusts himself and his ability to hit. As Meisel notes, that ability to hit is key for Ramirez, who’ll be viewed as a designated hitter if he breaks camp with Cleveland. That, in turn, would likely mean Carlos Santana serving as a dedicated first baseman and Jake Bauers playing primarily in the outfield, which would lead to further decisions in a muddled outfield mix.

A bit more from around the division…

  • Twins slugger Miguel Sano is still about a week away from having the protective boot from his right foot, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The laceration on his heel is “probably about 80 percent healed,” per Twins trainer Tony Leo, but its proximity to Sano’s Achilles tendon necessitates that it be fully healed up before he can resume baseball activity. That timeline could put Sano in doubt for Opening Day, though if all goes according to plan, he’ll have three weeks to build up to game activity and begin taking at-bats and reps at third base. New manager Rocco Baldelli simply stated that there’s “no way to say for sure” what Sano’s timeline is until the boot comes off.
  • White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning won’t throw for seven to 10 days after having his recent bout of forearm discomfort examined by team physicians and doctor James Andrews, the team announced (h/t: Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, on Twitter). He’s slated to begin a throwing program at that point, assuming the pain in his arm has alleviated. Acquired alongside Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in the 2016 Adam Eaton swap, Dunning has raised his profile with the ChiSox and has drawn his share of praise on top 100 prospect rankings throughout the industry. However, while he turned in a stellar 2.71 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season, the 24-year-old was also limited to 86 1/3 innings by an elbow sprain.
  • Tigers roster hopeful Dustin Peterson chatted with Chris McCosky of the Detroit News about his surprise at being designated for assignment by the Braves late last season and the opportunity he now has before him with his new organization. Peterson, who was promptly claimed by the Tigers upon hitting waivers, said he’d been hoping for a September call-up on the heels of a strong finish to his season in Triple-A Gwinnett. (Indeed, he hit .296/.345/.441 over his final 200 PAs with Gwinnett.) Instead, however, he was informed he’d been designated in order to make room on the roster for Preston Tucker (who’d spend the final month with Atlanta before being cut loose himself). McCosky notes that Peterson has been working out at first base to increase his versatility in a bid to make the Opening Day roster, though he does have a pair of minor league options remaining. Peterson could also see some time at DH, though manager Ron Gardenhire indicated to McCosky that the precise manner in which he utilizes the DH slot will be determined by how often Miguel Cabrera is capable of playing first base

Central Injury Notes: Darvish, Gray, Duffy, Dunning

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Though he was clearly carrying plenty of rust, Cubs righty Yu Darvish nevertheless turned in a rather promising first spring outing today, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes. Darvish says he felt great and the radar guns reflected it. While he struggled a bit to stay in the zone, that’s a secondary concern at this point given the major health ailments that ruined his 2018 season. With $101MM still owed to Darvish over the next five years, the Cubs have to be encouraged to see him feeling strong, though he still has a ways to go to reestablish himself as a front-line starter.

More health notes from the central divisions …

  • Reds right-hander Sonny Gray, who was scratched from his spring debut due to some elbow stiffness, is expected to throw a bullpen session Thursday, writes MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The team’s most notable offseason addition to the rotation, Gray will also throw from flat ground at a distance of 120 feet today, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay (Twitter link). Manager David Bell told Feinsand that Gray was initially concerned about the elbow discomfort but is in vastly better spirits and has felt improvement each day since being scratched. For the time being, it seems, the Reds have decreasing reason to be concerned about Gray’s status.
  • The Royals are “backing off” from using Danny Duffy for the time being, manager Ned Yost tells reporters (Twitter links via Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star). The southpaw experienced tightness in his shoulder and had difficulty getting loose for his latest side session, though he eventually completed that session. Duffy feels it’s a minor issue and some standard-issue early spring stiffness. The Royals are already down a rotation candidate with righty Trevor Oaks perhaps headed for hip surgery, and subtracting arguably their most talented starter from the mix would be a considerably more damaging blow. Duffy, 30, struggled through a down season in 2018 but was Kansas City’s best arm in 2016-17 when he worked to a 3.64 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 326 innings.
  • There was some ominous news out of White Sox camp, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets that pitching prospect Dane Dunning is due for a closer medical look after experiencing forearm discomfort. The talented young righty has shown quite well ever since he cracked the professional ranks and entered the 2018 campaign as a consensus top-100 prospect leaguewide. Unfortunately, he missed half of the 2018 season owing to an elbow sprain. The hope was that Dunning would be able to pick up where he left off this spring.

Quick Hits: Mets, Melvin, Nationals, Lucroy, Dunning

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The Mets will interview former Rangers and Brewers GM Doug Melvin about their open general manager’s position sometime in the next week or two, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.  Melvin, who has been a senior advisor for Milwaukee since being moved out of the GM role in August 2015, was first linked to the Mets by Fancred’s Jon Heyman back in August.  With Mets owner Fred Wilpon reportedly looking to hire a seasoned executive with a scouting background, Melvin’s 30 years of front office experience would certainly seem to make him a solid candidate, though COO Jeff Wilpon is seemingly more keen on a more analytical mind in New York’s baseball ops department.  Up to a dozen “serious candidates” are reportedly under consideration for the Mets’ GM job, however, so Melvin still faces tough competition.

Some more from around the baseball world as we prepare for the AL Wild Card game….

  • The Nationals are parting ways with assistant GM Bob Miller, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Nats didn’t renew Miller’s contract.  Miller has worked in Washington for the last four seasons, and has longstanding ties with Nats GM Mike Rizzo when the two worked together with in Diamondbacks organization.  Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) describes Miller as Rizzo’s “right-hand man” in the front office and the team’s “rules guru,” also crediting Miller with the trade that brought Trea Turner and Joe Ross to the Nationals.
  • Jonathan Lucroy didn’t contribute much at the plate for the Athletics this season, but the signing of the veteran catcher has become a major move in Oakland’s run to the AL wild card game, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Thanks to an up-and-down 2017 season, a dropoff in his framing numbers, and perhaps just the overall chilled free agent market, Lucroy had to settle for a one-year, $6.5MM deal from the A’s in March.  Catcher became a need for the A’s once Bruce Maxwell fell out of favor with the team, and Lucroy’s veteran knowledge became particularly important given the number of young arms that ended up on the roster due to injuries and a focus on the bullpen.  “I don’t even know the numbers of starters that we’ve gone through with unfortunate injuries,” closer Blake Treinen said.  “And then the amount of arms that we had in the bullpen through September, trying to keep hitters off balance, knowing what everybody has, trying to read their stuff on that day.  [Lucroy has] been pretty solid, to say the least, for us back there, and it’s a good luxury to have.”  Lucroy’s mediocre offensive numbers will limit his free agent market and keep him in Oakland’s price range, so it will be interesting to see if the A’s could pursue a reunion with the catcher in free agency this winter.
  • White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning’s season was cut short by an elbow sprain, but after rehabbing the injury, Dunning tells The Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription required) that he is hopeful of avoiding surgery altogether.  Dunning may even get a few instruction league innings under his belt just to test his arm before the offseason.  The 29th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Dunning came to Chicago as part of the trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals, and his prospect stock has since been on the rise.  He cracked the preseason top-100 prospect lists from Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB.com prior to 2018, and then posted a 2.71 ERA, 3.85 K/BB rate, and 10.4 K/9 over 86 1/3 combined innings at A-ball and Double-A this season.

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