Right-hander Jakob Junis and the Cleveland Guardians finalized their one-year, $4.5 million contract.
The 32-year-old Junis declined his part of an $8 million mutual option with Cincinnati in November in favor of a $3 million buyout. The Reds acquired him in July in a trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Brewers. He had a 2.85 ERA in five starts and nine relief appearances for Cincinnati, finishing the season 4-0 with a 2.69 ERA in six starts and 18 relief outings.
Junis is 42-45 with a 4.48 ERA in 192 games, including 116 starts, over eight seasons with Kansas City, San Francisco, Milwaukee and Cincinnati.
The Guardians exceeded modest expectations last season with a strong start that set them up to win 92 games and the AL Central before advancing to the AL Championship Series.
Earlier this offseason, they signed Gold Glove first baseman Carlos Santana to a one-year, $12 million deal after trading Josh Naylor to Arizona and added reliever Paul Sewald with a one-year, $7 million deal to join a bullpen led by closer Emmanuel Clase.
Left-hander Sam Hentges was placed on the 60-day injured list. He had surgery on Sept. 18 with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache to repair the capsule and labrum in his left shoulder and recovery time was estimated at 12-to-14 months.
