Rangers add consistency to rebuilding bullpen with this former Cleveland right-hander

The Teas Rangers added an additional bullpen arm for the 2026 season with a reported one-year deal to right-hander Jakob Junis.

Junis, 33, is an Arkansas native with a nine-year track record of in Major League Baseball after since being drafted by the Royals in 29th round of the 2011 Draft. Since then he's played for the Giants, Brewers, Reds and Guardians.

During the 2025 season with Cleveland, Junis appeared in 57 games to the tune of 2.97 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 18 walks and a 1.23 WHIP in 66.2 innings of work. While his velocity doesn't light up the radar gun, he has one of the best changeups in baseball and limits walks.

Junis adds consistency to a rebuilding Rangers' bullpen

For Junis, the turnaround in his career game recently during the 2024 season when he officially made the switch from a starter to a reliever. As a starter, he had a career 4.53 ERA in 116 games but coming out of the bullpen the ERA has dipped to 3.87 in 133 games.

In 2024 while spitting time with the Reds and Brewers, he worked majority of his season (18 of 24 games) out of the bullpen and compiled a 4-0 record with 2.69 ERA and 51 strikeouts to only eight walks.

Texas will likely keep Junis fixed to the bullpen all season long barring any pressing injuries where spot starts might be needed.

Junis joins a bullpen that has been overhauled the past two years but carries a good foundation late in games with Chris Martin, Robert Garcia, Cole Winn, Alexis Diaz and now Junis, expected to get those opportunities down the stretch.

When it comes to consistency and arms trending upward, not only is Junis a good option, it also puts no real strain on the budget at just four million dollars.