As reliever market thins, former Brewers' swingman lands new deal with Rangers

The Milwaukee Brewers' home Opening Day starters over the last two years are likely to come as a surprise to many fans. Though obviously not as noteworthy as the true Opening Day starter, which has been Freddy Peralta in each of the last two seasons, the home opener is still a big game for MLB teams; being the first to toe the rubber in front of the home crowd is not an honor pitchers take lightly. Last year, the Brewers turned to offseason acquisition Elvin Rodríguez for their home opener against the Kansas City Royals. Rodríguez was ultimately designated for assignment prior to the All-Star Break, making his home Opening Day start even more of an anomaly.

However, the home Opening Day starter from the 2024 campaign might be even more surprising to Brewers fans. On April 2, 2024, in front of a packed crowd at American Family Field, Jakob Junis got the start in the Brewers' first home game. Facing the Minnesota Twins, Junis tossed four innings and surrendered just one earned run, setting the Brewers up for a 3-2 victory -- their fourth consecutive victory to start the season.

Junis, however, went down with a shoulder impingement after the start, and during his rehab process, suffered a scary injury while catching fly balls in the outfield during batting practice. Junis was struck in the neck with a fly ball and had to be immediately hospitalized, which delayed his return until late June. Over the next four weeks, Junis made nine solid appearances out of the Brewers' bullpen, and by the time the trade deadline rolled around, he boasted a stellar 2.42 ERA.

The Brewers were in desperate need of starting pitching help, however, and Junis had become a true reliever after his shoulder injury. With plenty of bullpen depth, Matt Arnold flipped Junis and Joey Weimer for veteran starter Frankie Montas of the Cincinnati Reds at the deadline, thus ending Junis' tenure in Milwaukee after just 10 total outings.

The now-33-year-old Junis landed with the Cleveland Guardians for the 2025 campaign, and after posting his second-consecutive sub-3.00 ERA season, just landed a new deal with the Texas Rangers for the 2026 season, as initially reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Jakob Junis signs one-year pact with Texas Rangers, taking another strong right-handed reliever off of the market

Last week, Reviewing the Brew's Tyler Koerth noted the lopsided nature of the Brewers' current projected 2026 Opening Day bullpen. As things currently stand, it appears as if the Brewers might be forced to carry five lefties and three righties in the bullpen on Opening Day, which is not necessarily an issue, but could spell trouble for Pat Murphy as he looks to optimize match-ups late in games. As a result, it's certainly possible that the Brewers add a proven right-handed veteran to their roster before the offseason comes to a close. Ironically, Junis made a great deal of sense.

Not only do the Brewers clearly like Junis' profile, seeing as they were willing to hand him a $7 million deal back in 2024, but the $4 million salary that he will earn from the Rangers in 2026 was more than reasonable for a reliever of his caliber. Junis, who relies heavily on an elite slider, continues to show an ability to induce soft contact while limiting base runners with a low walk rate. Though he won't overpower anyone with his low-90s fastball and doesn't rack up strikeouts, his profile is one that is certainly still effective, especially when paired with the excellent defense that Milwaukee possesses.

That said, there are definitely some concerns with Junis that likely steered the Brewers away this offseason. Though he's sported a sub-3.00 ERA in each of his last two seasons, his expected ERA has been more than a run worse in each campaign, suggesting some luck was involved in his surface-level numbers. Additionally, though it's not too important to his arsenal, Junis did lose a tick on his fastball in 2025, and paired with the shoulder issues he had in 2024, that could certainly be cause for concern.

Now, the Brewers will have to look elsewhere on the thin reliever market should they make an addition before the 2026 season arrives. However, before that happens, Milwaukee will need to make a decision on whether or not Peralta will be wearing a Brewers uniform this season. Such a decision will offer clarity in regard to both their roster construction and payroll flexibility, before they decide whether or not another addition to their relief corps is needed.