Jakob Junis Free Agency: Former Giants pitcher agrees 1-year, $7,000,000 deal with Brewers
Right-hander Jakob Junis has agreed to a one-year, $7 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Ken Rosenthal. The deal, pending a physical will pay Junis $4 million in the first year and a $3 million buyout on a mutual option for the second year, per The Athletic.
The move comes following the trade of Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for whom the Brewers received shortstop Joey Ortiz, left-handed pitcher DL Hall, and a draft pick for the July event.
Jakob Junis, who started four games last year for the San Francisco Giants, should add depth to the Brewers' starting rotation. The club currently has Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Colin Rea, (re-signed as a free agent) Joe Ross, another free-agent addition, and recently acquired DL Hall for the starting spot.
Junis allowed zero earned runs in his four starts across 12.2 innings of work, holding hitters to a .114 batting average and .352 OPS. Apart from that, he came off the bullpen on 36 occasions and allowed a 4.54 ERA in 73.1 innings.
Before playing for the Giants in the last two seasons, he was with the Kansas City Royals from 2017–21, who also picked him out of the 2011 MLB draft.
Jakob Junis' pitching has been elevated in recent years
Last season, Jakob Junis registered a personal-low 3.87 ERA while having an above-average strikeout rate of 26.2%.
Junis' sinker is elevated to an average speed of 93.7 mph, an uptick in velocity for a fastball that sits around the 91–92 mph mark until then.
His slider also improved to 84.2 mph against the career average speed of 82–83 mph. The breaking pitch, which is also his primary pitch, is a key part of his arsenal and he has used it effectively since last season. His slider broke nearly 63% of the time and the control was there to be seen. He walked less than 6% of opponents for the fourth time in his five MLB seasons with 40 or more innings.
Since 2022, right-handed hitters have slashed Junis for .254/.297/.414, on top of striking out nearly a quarter of the time. Left-handed hitters slashed him for .290/.341/.494 over the 20.3% K rate during that period.