Brewers sign former SF Giants swingman to one-year, $7 million deal

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed former Kansas City Royals and SF Giants pitcher Jakob Junis to a one-year, $7 million contract.

Steven Rissotto | Feb 9, 2024

Brewers sign former SF Giants swingman to one-year, $7 million deal /

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The Milwaukee Brewers added to their pitching staff last week by signing former SF Giants right-hander Jakob Junis to a one-year, $7 million deal. Junis was a consistent contributor for the Giants from 2022-2023 and inked a uniquely structured deal with Milwaukee after becoming a free agent.

SF Giants starting pitcher Jakob Junis throws a pitch during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31, 2023. — Junis will receive $4 million in 2024 with a $3 million buyout for a mutual option for 2025 / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Junis will receive $4 million in 2024 with a $3 million buyout for a mutual option for 2025. As the Brewers enter a period following the trade of ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, Junis has a path to return to the starting rotation on a full-time basis–– a role he was forced to vacate by the Giants last season.

Despite his flexibility, Junis pitched in mostly a bulk-innings role with the Giants last season. In 40 games, including four starts, the veteran righty fired 86 innings and recorded a 3.87 ERA with a 5.7% walk rate and a career-high 26% strikeout rate. In 20 of his 36 relief outings, Junis completed at least two or more innings.

In particular, Junis' slider has been a signifcant weapon in his aresnal. He used the pitch 62.5% of the time with opponents hititng .216 against it.

The Giants signed Junis to a one-year, $1.75 million ahead of the 2022 season. Injuries to the pitching staff forced San Francisco to use him more in the rotation during in his first season. After throwing 112 innings in 2022 with a 4.42 ERA in 23 games (17 starts), Junis was rewarded with another deal before the 2023 season.

Junis, 31, was a 29th rounder by the Kansas City Royals in 2011 out of high school and spent five seasons at the big league level with them from 2017-21. While he was never dominant, Junis was a solid innings-eating back end starter prior to injury riddled campaigns in 2020 and 2021, leading him to be non-tendered. Now, he looks to build on his successful tenure with the SF Giants in a potential return to the rotation with the Brewers.

Published Feb 9, 2024

STEVEN RISSOTTO

Steven Rissotto (he/him) is an award-winning journalist who currently covers the San Francisco Giants for SFBay.ca and Giants Baseball Insider. At 19-years-old in 2021, he joined SF Bay Media as the Giants beat writer, covering games a few times a week during the Giants’ record-setting 107-win season. Along with his game story coverage he is also the host of RizzoCast, a baseball podcast he founded in 2020 that features interviews with professional and amateur baseball players, coaches, media, fans, and everyone else around the game. Past guests have included Tyler Glasnow, Bob Kendrick, Shawn Estes, Bill Laskey, Renel Brooks Moon, Dave Dravecky, Ned Colletti, Denard Span, Ron Wotus, Joe Maddon, J.T. Snow and more. He is also a co-host with Tylor Hall on the Shutdown Inning Podcast, a show focused on all the latest happenings around the baseball world. Both podcasts are available on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are found. Currently, he is a student at San Francisco State University where he is majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in print/online and minoring in education. At SF State, he is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress, the student-run newspaper. He was formerly a member of the newspaper at Skyline College, where he served as editor-in-chief and news editor while also writing sports and features. He was formerly a student-journalist at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, where he pitched for the baseball team and covered some of the biggest stories in campus history. This includes a new multi-sports facility on campus, the breaking news coverage of Riordan’s coed announcement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Steven is well-respected by his peers and has been honored numerous times by Student Newspapers Online, JEA, ACP, and the California Publishing Association. In 2021, he finished second in the country for Reporter of the Year for ACP among the two-year college schools.