Reunion with former SF Giants versatile reliever is a must for thin pitching staff

The SF Giants have made relatively minor additions to the pitching staff so far this offseason. If they are indeed opting for a low-cost approach, reuniting with former reliever Jakob Junis could be a wise move to give the team more pitching depth.

Junis pitched for the Giants in 2022 and 2023 and was a very useful arm to have in the bullpen. He was used as both a reliever and a starter at times, with the Giants also using him to follow openers from time to time.

SF Giants should reunite with Jakob Junis to boost pitching staff

In 2022 with San Francisco, Junis had a 4.42 ERA in 23 games and 112 innings pitched with 17 of those appearances being starts. He struck out 98 batters and walked 25.

Junis followed that up in 2023 with a 3.87 ERA in 40 appearances and 86 innings pitched. He had 96 strikeouts compared to 21 walks that year.

He departed the Giants in free agency following the 2023 season and spent 2024 with both the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati reds. He pitched to a 2.69 ERA on the season in 67 innings pitched.

That earned him a deal with the Cleveland Guardians the following season and he turned in another solid campaign with a 2.97 ERA in 66 and 2/3 innings pitched. The versatile arm struck out 55 batters and delivered a solid season thanks in part to a heavier reliance on his changeup whereas when he was with the Giants he leaned heavily on his slider.

San Francisco's pitching staff was in need of some upgrades coming into this offseason. There were two glaring holes in the rotation and the bullpen was a collection of somewhat unreliable arms.

The Giants filled one of those holes in the rotation with Adrian Houser, but it is unclear how aggressive they will be in filling that other rotation hole or whether they may just let their younger rotation arms compete for that last spot.

As for the bullpen, the Giants have seemingly adopted a quantity over quality approach as they are adding a number of pitchers coming off injury who are cheap. While not the most inspiring approach, it may be one of the less riskier ways to construct a bullpen.

Junis would slot nicely into this mix as a guy who can serve as a long reliever which takes pressure off both the rotation and the late-inning arms. He can eat up innings and save some other relievers in the bullpen and the Giants also may not have to stretch out their starters as much if he can take some of the workload.

A reunion with Junis would not give many fans a thrill, but it would be a very practical and frugal signing and would be in keeping with San Francisco's approach to the offseason thus far.