Brewers Bolster Rotation, Sign Veteran Starter Jakob Junis to 1-Year Deal

At around 10 pm last night, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported that the Brewers have signed pitcher Jakob Junis to a 1-year deal worth $7 million. Junis will receive a $4 million salary and a $3 million buyout on a 2025 mutual option.

This deal works great for both sides as the Brewers get depth for the rotation on a one-year deal and the 31-year old gets to prove he is worthy of a multi-year deal if he decides to hit the free agent market next offseason. Milwaukee also has the opportunity to trade Jakob Junis at the trade deadline if things aren't going well for the team by that time.

Junis pitched 86 innings over 40 appearances last season with the San Francisco Giants last season, recording a 3.87 ERA which was a career-low for him. It's being reported that the Brewers signed Jakob Junis to be a starting pitcher rather than a reliever.

He struck out 26.2% of opposing hitters along with a 11.3% swinging strike rate. Junis has a four pitch repertoire that contains a fastball, sinker, slider, and changeup. He averaged a velocity of 84.2 MPH on his slider which has been his go to pitch for most of his career on the mound. Pairing his strong slider with his sinker that had a velocity of 93.7 MPH should be great against opposing hitters.

Junis needs to work on his fastball a bit more this offseason but it is definitely improving as he averaged a 94.0 MPH velocity on it compared to years prior where it sat around the 91 MPH area.

With the addition of Jakob Junis, the Brewers have a bit more depth in their starting rotation now. He joins a group that includes Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Colin Rea, Joe Ross, and DL Hall. There's also a young group of prospects yet to make their MLB debuts that will figure into the rotation picture at some point.

Following the trade sending Corbin Burnes to Baltimore, the Brewers were left needing to fill a lot of innings in their rotation and Junis should help do just that. He's thrown over 100 IP three times in his MLB career, including a couple 170+ IP seasons in 2018 and 2019 with the Royals. Although he's gone back and forth between the rotation and bullpen the past few years, his versatility and innings eating ability should prove valuable on this 2024 Brewers squad.