The Texas Rangers have traded right-hander Lance Lynn to the Chicago White Sox for right-hander Dane Dunning and left-hander Avery Weems, Chicago announced Tuesday.
Lynn is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off another strong year after signing a three-year, $30-million deal with the Rangers before the 2019 season.
The 33-year-old authored a 3.32 ERA and 4.19 FIP over 84 innings in 2020 while making 13 starts in the abbreviated campaign.
Lynn joins a rotation that ranked fourth among AL teams in ERA last year, with budding ace Lucas Giolito and veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel leading the way. The final two spots in the 2021 rotation will seemingly go to either Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, or flamethrowing right-hander Michael Kopech, who opted out of the 2020 season while coming off Tommy John surgery.
The Indiana native also reunites with Tony La Russa, who managed the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when Lynn made his MLB debut.
Dunning, 25, is the No. 5 prospect in the White Sox system, according to MLB Pipeline. The righty threw 34 innings over seven starts last year in his first taste of the majors, posting a 3.97 ERA and 3.99 FIP.
Weems, 23, was a sixth-round pick out of college in the 2019 draft. The southpaw owned a 2.09 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 60 1/3 innings at the Rookie ball level in 2019 but did not pitch in affiliated leagues this year due to the pandemic.
This move is the first most significant one the Rangers have made under new general manager Chris Young, who the organization officially hired last week.
