{"id":17618,"date":"2026-01-18T15:22:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T23:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=17618"},"modified":"2026-01-18T15:22:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T23:22:41","slug":"jakob-junis-inks-one-year-deal-with-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/01\/18\/jakob-junis-inks-one-year-deal-with-rangers\/","title":{"rendered":"Jakob Junis Inks One-Year Deal With Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers<\/a> added to their pitching staff Sunday as they agreed to terms with right-hander Jakob Junis<\/a><\/strong>. The new deal spans one year, and is worth $4 million, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand<\/a>. The club has not confirmed the deal.<\/p>\n

No Stranger to Free Agency<\/h4>\n

The 2025 offseason was the fourth time Jakob Junis hit the free agent market. Interestingly, it was his first time on the market after a season in which he did not make a start. The Cleveland Guardians<\/a>\u2019 trust in him increased as the 2025 season progressed, and he rewarded them with 66 2\/3 innings and a 2.97 ERA. After bringing a career 4.64 ERA into the 2024 season, Junis has excelled at run prevention, with a 2.83 ERA in 133 2\/3 innings over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

His best pitch is a vicious slider, and it accounts for nearly half of his pitches \u2013 44.5 percent in 2025 and 45.2 percent in 2024. Batters put together a .238 average against it last season, whiffing at it 31.4 percent of the time. It acts as a sweeper of sorts, with 12.4 inches of glove-side break that\u2019s 7.8 inches more than average.<\/p>\n

Slowing Down<\/h4>\n

Junis made a change to his repertoire in 2025. It came with a dramatic increase in changeup usage, jumping to 20 percent from 8.7 in 2024. Pitching coach Carl Willis<\/strong><\/a> and the rest of the Guardians\u2019 staff were proven correct in exploiting that pitch more often. Junis, a 33-year-old right-hander, got 15 strikeouts in 60 at-bats that ended in changeups and surrendered a mere three extra-base hits \u2013 and no home runs \u2013 while using it.<\/p>\n

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Something to watch as his career progresses is Junis’ velocity. His four-seam fastball dropped to a 91.2 average velocity from 92.5 in 2024 and the sinker from 91.9 to 91.1. Junis reached 10 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023 but only 7.1 since.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He posted posted a 2.97 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 66 2\/3 innings with the Guardians last season. Junis, a former starter, is coming off the first season of his career in where he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>