Three remaining free agents the Arizona Diamondbacks should consider

RHP Jakob Junis

The Diamondbacks have a handful of decent relievers. The backend is held down by Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald, who could be a very underrated 8th/9th inning duo this season. Ryan Thompson and Andrew Saalfrank pitched great in September. Hopefully, Joe Mantiply can pitch more like he did in 2022 and in August and September of this year, and Miguel Castro is a solid middle relief arm. But Jakob Junis could serve an important role as a hybrid starter/reliever and fill multiple roles.

Last season, Junis pitched to a 3.87 ERA, 3.74 FIP, and 1.29 WHIP through 86 innings of work. Junis had a healthy 26.2% K-rate with an even more impressive 5.7% walk rate. His 4.57 K:BB ratio was the 22nd highest among any pitcher with at least 80 IP last season. Junis’ HR/9 of 1.26 was about league average, but will probably play fine in Chase Field.

Junis could be even better next year. He had a 3.36 SIERA and .335 batting average on balls in play, compared to his career average of .313. The Giants weren’t a horrible defensive team in 2023, with -15 defensive runs saved but +15 outs above average. But the Diamondbacks were one of the best teams when it came to fielding, with +46 DRS and +31 OAA.

Junis pitched nearly 90 innings in only 40 games. He was used as a starter four times, and 23 of his outings lasted at least two innings. That’s a lot of volume from a bullpen/swingman arm. He provides a lot of value because of his ability to fill multiple roles on a pitching staff.