Why did KC Royals move Jakob Junis to the bullpen? Here’s Mike Matheny’s explanation
Behind Danny Duffy — who’s leading the American League in ERA — advanced stats indicate the Royals have had no better starting pitcher this season than Jakob Junis.
So why was he the one told Sunday that he’d be moved to the bullpen — at least for now — to make way for rookie Daniel Lynch’s major-league debut Monday?
Royals manager Mike Matheny explained it as the organization trying to think outside the box a bit while trying to cover in the bullpen for injured players Jesse Hahn and Kyle Zimmer, who have been used in high-leverage situations.
“You try to look internally, ‘How can we fill some of those spots to be able to continue to do some of the things that we’ve been doing?’ Internally, not a lot of options,” Matheny said Monday. “We have one guy that’s proven himself to be ready by passing all the tests, and that’s Daniel Lynch. Would he be ready to come in and serve in that (bullpen) role? Nah, I don’t think any of us believe that’s the right introduction for him.”
The solution, then, was to have Lynch continue to start while shifting Junis to the bullpen, with the idea of using him for multiple innings in important spots.
It still came as a surprise to Junis, who is second among all Royals’ pitchers this season in FanGraphs’ version of WAR.
“Definitely wasn’t expecting. It caught me by surprise a little bit, given the way I’ve been throwing the ball,” Junis said. “But with some injuries in the bullpen, they see it better that I go out there for the time being to give some help to those guys out there.”
Junis said the news was relayed to him by Matheny in a one-on-one conversation.
“He was honest. He was just straight up. He had never had really this type of conversation with a player before on this type of scenario and situation with me throwing well as a starter and moving to the bullpen,” Junis said. “But all that was said ... basically all that matters and what I came out of it, I’m not mad about this situation. I’m not going to be frustrated about this situation, because I know it’s probably not the last time I’m gonna be starting, and not the last time we moved to the bullpen either.”
Matheny reiterated that this was not a demotion for Junis.
“This is, ‘How do we take our best chance with all things considered? How we take our best chance of moving forward?’” Matheny said. “And just trying to have him see himself as we see him, which is an incredibly valuable pitcher on this staff, whether it’s throwing in the first inning or throwing for longer out of the ‘pen in leverage situations. And he could be somewhat of a hybrid you don’t see much of.”
Junis’ altered role comes immediately after an outing he calls “probably the best game I’ve had all season.” He threw 6 1/3 innings in a start Tuesday against Pittsburgh, striking out a season-high nine with one walk in KC’s 2-1 road loss.
“I feel good right now whether I’m in the bullpen or starting,” Junis said. “I’m going to try and have the mentality that I’m going to go out there and dominate.”
Matheny was quick to laud Junis for his team-first mentality, saying he had accepted the change “like a pro.” He also made clear the move was not made to have Junis work in long relief as a mop-up guy.
“What we’re looking at and how we are positioning him,” Matheny said, “is to come in and get significant outs for us.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
