The Texas Rangers and free agent reliever Jakob Junis have agreed to terms on a one year, $4 million deal with a mutual option, per reports.
Junis, 33, is a righthander who originally came up with the Kansas
City Royals as a starting pitcher in 2017. After a bad 2020 campaign, he moved between the rotation and the bullpen with the Royals and then San Francisco from 2021-23. He split the 2024 season between the Brewers and the Reds, getting sent to Cincinnati at the deadline in the Frankie Montas deal.
Junis signed a one year deal last winter with the Cleveland Guardians and worked exclusively out of the pen, putting up a 2.97 ERA, 3.45 FIP and 4.04 xERA. He throws four pitches — unusual for a reliever, but not unexpected given how much of his career was spent as a starter — with his slider being his best pitch, featuring a lot of horizontal break. He had a lot of success with his changeup in 2025, but both his sinker and fastball were hammered.
Junis doesn’t throw hard and doesn’t strike a lot of batters out. He does, however, throw strikes, and in 2025, anyway, did a good job avoiding hard contact.
The Rangers’ 40 man roster is currently full, and so a move will have to be made to clear a roster spot once the Junis deal is official. Dom Hamel, Zak Kent, and Michael Otanez are guys who were acquired on waivers earlier this winter, and would seem to be the guys most likely on the bubble.
