Junis finalizes $4 million deal with Rangers, who give minor deal to World Series reliever Sborz

By Canadian Press on January 20, 2026.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Right-hander Jakob Junis finalized a $4 million, one-year contract with the Rangers on Tuesday that includes a mutual option for 2027, and Texas signed 2023 World Series reliever Josh Sborz to a minor league contract.

Junis was 4-1 with with a 2.97 ERA in a career-high 57 appearances with Cleveland last season, when he allowed only five home runs over 66 2/3 innings. He will make $2.75 million this year, and the 2027 option is at $5 million with a $1.25 million buyout.

In his nine-year big league career, the 33-year-old Junis is 46-46 with two saves and a 4.36 ERA with 768 strikeouts in 249 games, including 116 starts, with Kansas City (2017-21), San Francisco (2022-23), Milwaukee (2024), Cincinnati (2024), and Cleveland (2025). He is among four active pitchers with at least 100 starts and 100 relief appearances since 2017.

Sborz spent all of last season on the injured list after right shoulder surgery in November 2024.

He got the final seven outs in the Rangers’ World Series-clinching victory at Arizona in Game 5 in 2023, then was limited to 16 1/3 innings over 17 appearances in 2024, when the right-hander was on the injured list four times for right shoulder issues.

He never pitched for the Rangers last year, making 12 appearances during a minor league rehab assignment, the last on Aug. 30.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

The Associated Press