Brewers reportedly agree to terms with righty Jakob Junis, trade Ethan Small to the Giants

It's never too late to add a little more starting-pitching depth, as far as the Milwaukee Brewers are concerned.

According to a report late Monday the team has agreed to terms with right-hander Jakob Junis, a seven-year veteran who joins an ever-expanding group of pitchers competing for what would appear to be three rotation spots behind returnees Freddy Peralta and Wade Miley.

The Brewers did not announce the move, presumably because Junis has yet to complete his physical.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, meanwhile, reported that Junis will be receiving $4 million this season with a $3 million buyout on a mutual option for 2025. Those numbers, plus the fact Junis is out of minor-league options, would seem to indicate he's already locked into a starting job.

Junis, 31, is coming off a 2023 season in which he made a career-high 40 appearances – including four starts – for the San Francisco Giants. He finished 4-3 with a career-best 3.87 ERA, 96 strikeouts in 86 innings and a WHIP of 1.29.

Perhaps most impressive: Junis ranked in the 87th percentile with a walk rate of just 5.7.

The year prior, Junis made 17 starts for the Giants and since first debuting in the major leagues in 2017 with the Kansas City Royals 110 of his 168 appearances have come as a starter.

Junis threw his slider 62.5% of the time last year, a career high, with a sinker, changeup and four-seam fastball also in his arsenal.

Ethan Small traded to the Giants

In a separate transaction, the Brewers traded 2019 first-round pick Ethan Small to the Giants for cash.

The left-hander, who turns 27 on Feb. 14, was designated for assignment by the Brewers last week in the wake of the Corbin Burnes trade in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Hopes had been high for Small but he failed to show much in four total appearances (three starts) with Milwaukee in 2022 and 2023, and command problems relegated him to a full-time relief role.