The Red Sox seemed to have a high priority this offseason to add to the front of the rotation, but they have mostly failed to do so, as they have only replaced Chris Sale with Lucas Giolito in their rotation. It seems that the team has started exploring other possibilities more lately in an effort to strengthen their pitching staff. According to a recent report by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the team is considering right-handers Codi Heuer and Jakob Junis.
Despite being selected by the Royals in the 29th round of the 2011 draft, Junis, 31, beat the odds and made it to the major leagues in the 2017 season. Since then, the right-hander has bounced between Kansas City’s bullpen and San Francisco’s rotation, managing to piece together a respectable career. For the most part of his career, Junis produced essentially league average performance, but this past season, he had a career year with the Giants, pitching to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.74 FIP in 86 innings pitched. Junis walked just 5.7% of hitters while striking out a career-high 26.2% of them in 40 outings for San Francisco last season.
Despite Junis’ impressive performance in the previous season, if he signs with the Red Sox, the right-hander is unlikely to make a significant contribution to the rotation mix because of his tendency to pitch best in shorter spurts. The right-hander gave up 31 innings of work in nine appearances last year where he threw 50 pitches or more, recording a 5.32 ERA. In comparison, Junis made 26 appearances with 40 pitches or fewer and recorded a solid 2.95 ERA across 39 2/3 innings of work. Given his effectiveness in shorter stints, Junis might be a viable reliever for the Red Sox, especially if closer Kenley Jansen is traded before Opening Day.
The Red Sox would be better off adding Heuer as a speculative move. Despite having had Tommy John surgery and an elbow fracture in 2021, the right-hander has pitched in 91 major league innings for the White Sox and Cubs, with a respectable 3.56 ERA and 3.66 FIP. Especially in 2020, when he combined an upper-90s heater with a 50% groundball rate, the righty was absolutely formidable for the south siders, striking out 27.2% of batters he faced in 21 appearances. Heuer was not tendered by the Cubs earlier in the winter, most likely as a result of his two-year pitching sabbatical while recovering from many elbow problems. Nevertheless, in his few big league outings, the 27-year-old pitcher has shown flashes of set-up grade ability, and if healthy, he could be a wise addition to the Boston bullpen.