Dunning (31, Texas Rangers), a Korean-based major leaguer who even raised the possibility of selecting the Korean national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), was announced on waivers by his team Texas Rangers.
Citing sources, Joel Shaman of the "New York Post" said on the 23rd (Korea time), "Texas has waived Dane Dunning. All clubs can claim him by paying 2.66 million U.S. dollars per year (about 3.9 billion won) for the 2025 season. If neither club claims him, Texas can drop Dunning to the minor league."
Dunning is a pitcher who was expected to participate in the upcoming 2026 WBC national team as the "second generation of Korean descent" born to his Korean mother Miss Dunning (Korean name Jung Mi-soo) and his American father John Dunning. With a special affection for "mother's country" so much that he even had a tattoo of "the same blood" in Korean on his left arm, he also expressed his desire to wear the national flag ahead of the 2023 WBC.
Dunning, who joined the Washington Nationals as the 29th highest overall pick in the first round of the 2016 MLB Rookie Draft, transferred to the Chicago White Sox through a trade that year and achieved his dream of making his big league debut in 2020, showing his potential with a 3.97 ERA with two wins and no losses in seven games.
Dunning, who once again wore his Texas uniform in a trade in December 2020, steadily accumulated experience with a 5-10 record with a 4.51 ERA in 27 games (25 starts) in 2021, and a 4-8 ERA in 29 games in 2022.
Dunning had a career-high season in 2023 with 12 wins, 7 losses and an earned run average of 3.70, 35 games (26 starts), and finally burst into potential. Dunning, who advanced to the World Series for the first time since his debut, enjoyed the joy of winning the title by allowing no runs in three games (two ⅓ innings).
However, his joy was only brief. Dunning had his worst season last year. He slowed down to five wins, seven losses and an earned run average of 5.31 in 26 games (15 starts). Due to his poor performance, he had to suffer a 20 percent cut in his salary from 3,325,000 dollars to 2.66 million dollars.
The desperate Dunning attempted to make changes to rebound in the 2025 season. The Dallas Morning News, a Texas-based media outlet, said that Dunning lost double-digit weight by controlling his diet during the offseason. "I tried to become a more effective pitcher on the mound by reducing body fat by 4 to 5 percent and increasing muscle mass by 5 percent." According to the media, Dunning said, "Last year, there were a lot of bad things. I tried to erase those things from my memory and correct myself." 온라인카지노
Dunning, who was so desperate, was eventually announced on waivers with a disappointing performance of one win, one loss and an 8.18 ERA in five exhibition games (first starter). In the early days of the exhibition game, he announced a good start by continuing a total of four innings with no outs and no runs until his second appearance, but he was not in good form in the end.