Texas Rangers Place Starting Pitcher on Injured List, Add Top Prospects to Roster

The Texas Rangers placed Dane Dunning on IR, Robbie Grossman returns, and prospects Jack Leiter and Owen White get called up from Triple-A Round Rock.

Apr 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Dane Dunning (33). / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers today announced the following roster moves prior to Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum:

• Right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning placed on 15-day Injured List, retroactive to May 5, with a right rotator cuff strain.

• Outfielder Robbie Grossman (#4), acquired in a trade with Chicago-AL on Wednesday morning, added to active roster.

• Right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter (#35) appointed as 27th man for doubleheader.

• Right-handed pitcher Owen White (#43) recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.

• Infielder Jonathan Ornelas optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Dunning has gone 3-2 with a 4.10 ERA (17 ER/37.1 IP) over 7 games/starts for the Rangers this season, ranking among staff leaders in starts (T1st, 7), strikeouts (2nd, 43), and innings (3rd, 37.1).  He last pitched in a start on Saturday at Kansas City, taking no decision in the Rangers’ 15-4 victory (4.2
IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 4 SO).  The first date that Dunning would be eligible to return to the active roster is May 20.

Grossman was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox this morning in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. Left-handed pitcher Kolton Ingram, who was on option at Round Rock, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Grossman.  The veteran switch-hitter returns to the Rangers after being a fixture on the 2023 World Series championship club.

The 34-year-old has batted .211/.329/.268/.597 (15-71) with no home runs and 4 RBI over 25 games for the White Sox this season, including 6-for-16 (.375) with 2 doubles, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts against left-handed pitchers.  Last year, Grossman batted .309/.416/.536/.952 (34-110) with 5 home runs, 10 doubles, and 23 walks/32 strikeouts against left-handed pitching, posting the 3rd-highest
on-base percentage and 6th-highest OPS figure vs. lefties in the American League (minimum 100 PA vs. LHP).  The veteran is a career .283 hitter against left-handed pitching with an .810 OPS. The 12-year MLB veteran has a career .243 batting average with 90 home runs and 419 RBI over 1151 games with Houston (2013-15), Minnesota (2016-18), Oakland (2019-20), Detroit (2021-22), Texas (2023), and Chicago-AL (2024).

Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter is scheduled to make his second career start Wednesday at the Oakland Athletics in Game 2 of a doubleheader. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

Leiter is scheduled to make his second Major League start in Game 2 of today’s doubleheader.  He has a 1-1 record with a 2.84 ERA (8 ER/25.1 IP) with 8 walks and 37 strikeouts over 5 games/4 starts for Triple-A Round Rock this season, including a no decision in his last outing on Thursday at Albuquerque (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, 78 pitches/46 strikes).  The 24-year-old was selected Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for April 22-28 after tossing 6.0 scoreless frames in a start on April 25 vs. Salt Lake (ND, 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 SO).

He made his Major League debut in start for Rangers on April 18 at Detroit (ND, 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R-ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 85 pitches/52 strikes), taking no decision as part of a 9-7 Texas victory before being optioned to Round Rock the following day (April 19).  The right-hander became just the 11th former No. 1 or 2 overall draft selection (including Amateur and 2nd-Phase Drafts) ever to make a start for the Rangers, and the first to do so since Matt Bush (no. 1 overall by San Diego in 2004) as an ‘opener’ on July 23, 2022 at Oakland.

Leiter is in 3rd season with the Texas organization after being selected by the club with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University.  He entered 2024 rated among the top prospects in the club’s farm system by MLB Pipeline (No. 8), Baseball Prospectus (No. 8), and
Baseball America (No. 13).  The Morristown, New Jersey native owns a lifetime 6-17 record, 5.05 ERA (114 ER/203.0 IP), and 260 strikeouts/113 walks over 48 appearances/46 starts in his three minor
league seasons spent exclusively with Frisco (AA) and Round Rock.

White will be seeking his season debut with the Rangers, as did not appear for the club during his first stint on the roster from April 19-21.  He has spent the season with Round Rock, going 0-2 with a 5.70 ERA (15 ER/23.2 IP) over 5 games/starts for the Express, posting a 1.606 WHIP figure as opponents
have batted .302 (29-96) with 3 home runs, 9 walks, and 19 strikeouts. He has a 3.97 ERA (5 ER/11.1 IP) over his last 2 starts, including his most recent outing on May 1 at Albuquerque (ND, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 74 pitches/52 strikes).

The right-hander was in Major League camp this spring for a second consecutive year, recording a 9.00 ERA (6 ER/6.0 IP) over 3 games (one start) in Cactus League games. This will mark White’s second season in the Major Leagues after appearing briefly with Texas over a pair of stints in 2023 (June 13-14, July 23-27). He made his Major League debut on June 13, 2023 vs Los Angeles-AL, allowing 5 runs/earned runs over 4.0 innings spanning 2 relief appearances with the Rangers.  His last MLB appearance was on July 26, 2023 at Houston. The Mount Ulla, N.C., native has spent his entire professional career in the Texas organization since being selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

Ornelas, 23, made his Rangers season debut yesterday at Oakland as a defensive replacement at second base, going 0-for-1. He was recalled on Monday from Round Rock, where he has slashed
.278/.320/.400/.720 (25-90) with 2 home runs, one triple, 3 doubles, and 11 RBI over 24 games.  The right-handed batter and thrower has made a team-leading 17 starts at shortstop for the Express
in 2024 while also seeing action at second base (7 starts).

A Glendale, Arizona native, Ornelas has spent his entire professional career in the Texas organization since being selected in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft out Raymond S. Kellis High School.

With today’s transactions, Texas remains at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with six players on the 60-day Injured List: Brock Burke, Carson Coleman, Jacob deGrom, Justin Foscue, Josh Jung, and Tyler Mahle.