ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers agreed to terms on new 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 $2,660,000 deal that includes potential performance bonuses for 2025, down from his $3,325,000 base salary this season when he was on the injured list twice with right shoulder issues. Sborz, who had right shoulder surgery this month, got $1.1 million with potential bonuses after making $1,025,000 this year.
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. Dunning and Sborz were eligible before completing their deals.
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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