Just one year after completely rebuilding a bullpen that ended up finishing with the fifth-best ERA in Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers are doing it again.

On Sunday afternoon, the Rangers came to terms with RHP Jakob Junis to help further their 2026 bullpen rebuild.

Texas and Junis agreed on a one-year, $4 million contract that will place him amongst the key pieces in first-year manager Skip Schumaker’s bullpen.

Last season, Junis pitched 66.2 innings in 57 games with the Cleveland Guardians and posted a very strong 2.97 ERA.

As the season went along, Junis got better pitching in meaningful games as the Guardians used a late-season run to rally and clinch the AL Central, overtaking the Detriot Tigers.

Before making the Junis signing official, the Rangers will need to clear a spot on their 40-man roster, as it is currently full.

Junis debuted in 2017 with the Kansas City Royals, where he spent five seasons before stops in San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati, before landing in Cleveland.

Last season, much of Junis’ success can be pinned on his increased changeup usage. In 2024, Junis threw the pitch just 8.7 percent of the time, but last season increased to 20 percent.

However, Junis’ best pitch is his slider, which he throws 44.5% of the time. Last season, batters hit just .238 against it.

It’ll be interesting to see how Junis factors into Schumaker’s bullpen, as he will be joining a unit that lacks true roles.

The Rangers have been high on Alexis Diaz’s progress this offseason and feel like he could possibly have what it takes tobe the team’s closer.

Left-hander Tyler Alexander was also brought in by the Rangers, as it will be interesting to see what role he carves out.

Chris Martin will also return to the bullpen, almost certainly factoring into the back end in some way.

Last season, when healthy, Martin was used as the Rangers 7th or 8th inning guy but pitched just 42.1 innings due to injury.

Health will be a big factor for the Rangers bullpen, especially early on, as Schumaker figures out how he wants to play his cards in his first year as Rangers manager.

Junis will certainly figure to be one of his best cards as the Rangers look to improve a bullpen that blew 29 saves last season and return to the postseason for the first time since they won it all in 2023.

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