Four days after trading Corbin Burnes, the Milwaukee Brewers added to their pitching staff by agreeing to a deal with free agent right-hander Jakob Junis, a source told ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
The deal, which is pending a physical, is for one year and worth $7 million, according to multiple reports.
Junis, 31, is being signed as a starting pitcher, McDaniel reports, after having served as both starter and reliever for the San Francisco Giants over the past two seasons.
In 2022, Junis made 17 starts for the Giants, going 5-7 with a 4.42 ERA in 112 innings. Last season he was mostly a reliever, going 4-3 with one save and a 3.87 ERA in 40 games (four starts).
Through a seven-year major league career (2017-21 with the Kansas City Royals, 2022-23 with San Francisco), Junis has split time between the bullpen and the rotation. He owns a career 38-45 mark with the one save and a 4.64 ERA in 168 games (110 starts).
The Brewers have starting spots to fill after non-tendering Brandon Woodruff, who will miss most or all of next season following shoulder surgery, and then sending Burnes to Baltimore. The Orioles gave the Brewers infielder Joey Ortiz, left-hander DL Hall and the 34th pick in this year’s draft in exchange for Burnes.
Milwaukee made another transaction Monday, sending left-hander Ethan Small to the Giants in exchange for cash. Small had been designated for assignment last week in the wake of the Burnes deal when the Brewers needed a spot on the 40-man roster.
Small, 26, made two relief appearances for Milwaukee last year, registering no decisions while yielding five runs on nine hits in four innings. In 2022, he made two spot starts for the Brewers, going 0-0 with a 7.11 ERA in 6⅓ innings.
He spent the bulk of the 2023 season with Triple-A Nashville, where he went 2-4 with three saves and a 3.18 ERA in 38 games (two starts).
Field Level Media contributed to this report.