Four days after trading away Corbin Burnes, the Milwaukee Brewers reportedly added to their pitching staff by agreeing to a deal with free agent right-hander Jakob Junis.
Pending a physical, Junis would receive a one-year, $7 million deal from Milwaukee, multiple media outlets reported Monday night.
Junis, 31, was mostly a reliever for the San Francisco Giants last season, 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 on Monday, shipping 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 6 1/3 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