The White Sox have signed right-hander Justin Dunn to a minor league deal, per the team. The CAA client will be in spring training as a non-roster invitee.
Now 29 years old, Dunn was a first-round pick by the Mets in 2016. He ranked among the organization’s top prospect when he was traded to Seattle alongside Jarred Kelenic in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster. The M’s gave Dunn a look in parts of three seasons and got decent results along the way, though Dunn also battled multiple shoulder injuries in his Mariners tenure. Eventually, he was packaged with Brandon Williamson and Jake Fraley in the trade bringing Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Seattle.
With the Reds, Dunn only pitched a total of 65 2/3 innings between the minors and big leagues combined. His shoulder was ailing at the time of the trade, but Cincinnati made the swap anyhow. Dunn’s first season in Cincinnati was delayed by that shoulder; the team announced late in spring training that Dunn would miss “months” with a shoulder issue. He wound up pitching 31 innings in the minors and another 31 in the majors that year, logging an identical 6.10 ERA in both settings. Dunn’s 2023 season was again delayed by shoulder woes, and he eventually underwent surgery to repair the anterior shoulder in his right capsule late in 2023. He hasn’t pitched since.
Just a couple weeks ago, Dunn’s camp hosted a showcase for big league clubs. It was always unlikely that he’d land a guaranteed roster spot after such a lengthy layoff, but Dunn will head to a White Sox organization that should have ample opportunity for him next season. He’ll bring a career 4.44 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate and ugly 14.7% walk rate in 133 2/3 innings to Chicago. When healthy, Dunn has averaged 93.7 mph on his heater and paired that offering with an 84 mph slider and 80 mph curveball.
Because of all the time Dunn has spent on a major league injured list, he has four full seasons of service time already. If he makes the White Sox’ roster at any point, he’d get to five years with another 152 days in the majors. At the very least, Dunn has a full slate of minor league options and two seasons of club control remaining. If he’s brought up midseason when there are fewer than 152 days on the calendar, he’d technically be controllable another three years, at minimum. All of that is putting the proverbial cart before the horse, however. First and foremost, Dunn will need to show that his shoulder injury is behind him and make some strides with his longstanding command issues. There’s plenty of former prospect pedigree, but it’s been close to a decade since Dunn was a first-rounder and about five years since he was last considered a top prospect.