Underrated former SF Giants reliever lands one-year deal with Rangers

It is getting to that point of the offseason when the most noteworthy SF Giants news is when familiar faces find new homes. That is what happened recently as Jakob Junis landed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers.

The move provides a boost to Texas' bullpen and gives them a solid reliever who flies under the radar typically. He was with the Giants from 2022 to 2023 and established himself as an effective swingman out of the bullpen.

Former SF Giants reliever Jakob Junis lands with Rangers

In those two seasons Junis appeared in 63 games for San Francisco and pitched 198 innings. He impressed with a devastating slider and could be used as a starter in a pinch, as a long reliever after an opener or if a starter got knocked out early, or even late in games if needed because he had strikeout stuff if he needed it.

Junis has followed up his San Francisco tenure with two more really solid seasons. He had a 2.69 ERA in 2024 with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds and followed that up with a 2.97 ERA last season with the Cleveland Guardians.

He is not a pitcher who is going to win awards or draw a lot of attention to himself, but over the course of a long season it is so valuable to have a pitcher like Junis who can be stretched out as needed and eat up innings which takes a toll off the rest of the bullpen. The Giants have had guys like this in Junis and Yusmeiro Petit if one remembers back further.

It is not totally clear if the Giants will have a pitcher like that in 2026. They have arms like Spencer Bivens who can be stretched out and used for multiple innings. Perhaps they could turn to a younger arm like Kai-Wei Teng or Carson Seymour to eat up those innings.

The lack of a clear favorite for that role is why a reunion with Junis did not seem like such a bad idea, but maybe his $4 million salary was too rich for the Giants who clearly want to construct a bullpen on the cheap.

It would shock no one if Junis had another solid year and proved to be an invaluable resource to Texas. Let's just hope the Giants have an internal option who can fill the same function as Junis in 2026.