Rangers agree to contracts with pitchers Dane Dunning and Josh Sborz, leaving 3 arb-eligible players

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers agreed to one-year contracts for right-handed pitchers Dane Dunning and Josh Sborz ahead of Friday night’s tender deadline, leaving them with three players still eligible for salary arbitration.

Dunning got a $2.66 million deal that includes $985,000 in performance bonuses for innings in 2025, down from his $3,325,000 salary this season when he was on the injured list twice with right shoulder issues. He would earn $50,000 each for reaching 30, 40, 50 and 60 innings, $75,000 apiece for 70, 80 and 90, and $80,000 for 100, 105, 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150.

Sborz, who had right shoulder surgery this month, got $1.1 million with $250,000 in bonuses for innings after making $1,025,000 this year. He would earn $25,000 for five innings, $50,000 for 10, $75,000 for 15 and $100,000 for 20.

Texas tendered 2025 contract offers to all 27 eligible players on its big league roster. That included first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim and center fielder Leody Taveras, who are all eligible for salary arbitration.

After getting the final seven outs in the World Series championship-clinching victory at Arizona in Game 5 in 2023, Sborz missed 107 games this year while on the injured list four times for right shoulder issues.

The Rangers revealed Friday that Sborz had a debridement procedure performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on November 13. The team said there is a reasonable expectation Sborz can return to game action in the first half of the 2025 season.

Sborz pitched only 16 1/3 innings in 17 appearances this year. He was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA.

Dunning missed 29 games during his IL stints, and was demoted to Triple-A Round Rock at one point during the season. While with the Rangers, he went 5-7 with a 5.31 ERA in 26 games (15 starts) while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen like he also did during the World Series season.

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