Jakob Junis is back on the market.
The former Guardians reliever became a free agent again on Friday night after the Rangers paid him a $1.25 million buyout rather than exercise their share of his $5 million mutual option. It sends Junis into the same free-agency loop he’s been stuck in before, even after he spent the 2025 season as one of the steadier arms in Cleveland’s bullpen.
Junis had signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with Texas for 2026, a contract that included the mutual option. That came after he pitched in 2025 on a $4.5 million deal with the Guardians. His Rangers contract also marked the sixth team in six years, though it was the second straight season in which he stayed put with one club.
In 2025, Junis logged 66 2/3 innings for Cleveland and handled just about every bullpen role asked of him. That work was quietly one of the strongest performances in the Guardians’ relief corps, even if the front office let him walk and replaced him through free agency.
With Texas, Junis finished at 3.64 ERA in 54 1/3 innings. His numbers were a little more inflated than they had been the year before in Cleveland, but he still showed a knack for missing barrels, posting a 3.5% barrel rate. The swing-and-miss wasn’t as sharp, though, with hitters whiffing on only 18.3% of his pitches and batting .273 against him.
He started the season in the middle of the Rangers’ high-leverage mix while they sorted through uncertainty at the back end of the bullpen, and he wound up setting a career high with six saves. He also led the team with 18 holds.
The finish was rougher. Junis posted a 5.21 ERA in the second half after putting up a 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings before the break. That late slump may have affected his future with Cleveland, but he still looks positioned to land another one-year deal for 2027, likely in the neighborhood of the $2.75 million he made with Texas.
The lockout looming over the market could shake things up, but pitching is always in demand. Junis may never be the headline move of an offseason, yet the last two years have shown he can be a useful, reliable piece in the middle of a bullpen.
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