Guardians bring versatile righty into pitching equation

Looking to add an additional arm to their pitching staff, the Cleveland Guardians agreed terms on a contract with veteran right-hander Jakob Junis. It is a one-year $4.5 million deal for the 32-year-old who could bring some much-needed versatility to Cleveland's group of pitchers.

Once he passes his physical, the Guardians will have to create a spot for Junis on their active roster. This is something that can be easily accomplished by placing any one of their players with a long-term injury on the 60-day IL (Shane Bieber, David Fry, Sam Hentges).

Junis has shown that he is capable of being effective coming out of the bullpen and starting games in his career. This could prove useful for the Guardians should they need a starter on short-term notice or if manager Stephen Vogt would like to have Junis follow a reliever in an opener situation. Junis could also be a multi-inning option to turn to if one of their starters gets shelled early, allowing the Guardians to possibly navigate the following innings in the most efficient way possible.

After beginning his career primarily in a starting role with the Kansas City Royals, Junis has mostly come out of the bullpen over the past few seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds.

In five years with the Royals, Junis had a 4.82 ERA and 1.353 WHIP. It was not necessarily an impressive performance, but Junis was serviceable for a Kansas City team exiting a championship window and entering a full-on rebuild. Junis would land in San Francisco for the 2022 season, with the Giants attempting to use him in their rotation. Again, Junis found it difficult to find success as a starter, finishing the season with a 4.42 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 23 games (17 starts).

The 2023 season saw Junis make 40 appearances for the Giants, with only four of them being starts. This would continue in 2024 with the Brewers and Reds, as just six of his 24 appearances were games started by Junis. The shift in role would pay off as Junis has a 3.35 ERA and 1.098 WHIP over the past two seasons. Having a pitcher capable of delivering this type of performance while having this level of versatility could help the Guardians ensure they have pitching over the course of the season.