adminMax Scherzer, 39, has been traded from the New York Mets to the Texas Rangers. But what does that mean for Korean-American big leaguer Daein Dunning, 29?
The Mets recently waived Scherzer, sending him to Texas on Nov. 30 (ET). With Jacob deGrom out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Texas has made it clear that it wants to win the American League West and the World Series. Scherzer, who signed a $130 million contract, will naturally step into DeGrom’s role.
With Scherzer’s arrival, Dunning, who is 8-4 with a 3.28 ERA, is not expected to change positions. Dunning started the year in the bullpen as Texas acquired Digrom, Andrew Heaney, Nathan Ivoldi, and Jake Odorizzi, but with Odorizzi and Digrom out for the season, he’s now fully settled into the starting rotation. Iboldi hasn’t pitched since April 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays with an elbow strain.
MLB.com writes, “Scherzer’s arrival in Texas addresses a major need for a team that has seen uneven performances from Martin Perez and Heaney this season. Iboldi missed his final start, sending another signal that a starting pitching trade is in order.”
“Assuming Iboldi returns healthy, Toronto will enter the postseason with a potential top-three starting rotation of Scherzer, Iboldi, and Dunning as it attempts to win its first World Series title in franchise history,” MLB.com continued.
In many ways, Dunning’s position is solid. Dunning’s 3.28 ERA is the lowest on the team, behind only Iboldi’s 2.69. Dunning’s eight wins are also the most on the team behind Iboldi’s 11 (3). His 107 innings pitched are the most on the team behind Iboldi (123.2), Jon Gray, and Perez (108.1). When Scherzer arrives, he’ll take over DeGrom’s role, but that doesn’t mean you can’t envision a Texas lineup without Dunning.바카라사이트
According to MLB.com, Texas will look to bolster the back end of the starting rotation and possibly the bullpen before the trade deadline on April 2. Kim mentions a possible trade for San Diego Padres closer Josh Hader.
Dunning is ripe for a postseason appearance. His last postseason appearance was a one-game start in 2020 with the Chicago White Sox.