The Chicago White Sox made the first splash of baseball’s Winter Meetings by acquiring right-hander Lance Lynn from the Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports late Monday night.
Right-hander Dane Dunning and left-hander Avery Weems are heading to the Rangers, the reports said. The deal will not be announced by either team until all players involved pass a physical.
Per source, the Rangers will receive Dane Dunning and another pitching prospect back for Lance Lynn.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 8, 2020
Tough Top Three
Lynn will slot into the White Sox’s rotation behind young ace Lucas Giolito and veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel. He is entering the final year of a three-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Rangers before the 2019 season. The 33-year-old is scheduled to make $9.333 million in 2021.
In 2020, Lynn went 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 13 starts, walking 25 and striking out 89 in 84 innings for the Rangers, who are in rebuilding mode. He posted a 16-11 record and a 3.67 ERA with 59 walks and 246 strikeouts in 208.1 innings in 2018.
The White Sox are in win-now mode after making the playoffs in 2020 but finishing tied for second with the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.
Young Guns
Dunning is the White Sox’s No. 5 prospect and made his major-league debut in 2020. Dunning, who turns 26 on Dec. 20, made seven starts for the White Sox. He had a 2-0 record and 3.97 ERA, with 13 walks and 35 strikeouts in 35 innings. Although Dunning is young, he will likely be penciled into the starting rotation for the Rangers. The Ranger finished last in the AL West in 2020 with a 22-38 record.
Dunning was a first-round pick in the 2016 draft by the Washington Nationals and was traded with Gioloto and Reynaldo Lopez to the White Sox for outfielder Adam Eaton on Dec. 7, 2016.
Additionally, Weems, 23, was a sixth-round draft choice out of Arizona in 2019. He was not among MLB Pipeline’s top 30 White Sox prospects.
New Look
Although Chris Young was named general manager on Friday, he strikes fast to trade Lynn. The deal fits the mold of what president of baseball operations Jon Daniels is trying to accomplish with the Texas.
The Winter Meetings, scheduled to be held in Arlington, Texas – home of the Rangers – are being held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
