SEATTLE -- Andrés Muñoz will not return to the mound again for the Mariners’ final three games of the season.
The club placed the closer on the 15-day injured list ahead of Friday’s game against the Angels with right knee inflammation, stemming from an issue that surfaced last weekend in Denver.
The transaction wasn’t necessarily shocking -- especially after Seattle was eliminated in the American League West race on Thursday -- but it nonetheless marks a sour end to Muñoz’s up-and-down year.
In a corresponding move, right-hander Troy Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
Muñoz exhibited discomfort in the knee on Sunday at Coors Field, which forced him to exit after a consultation with manager Dan Wilson and assistant athletic trainer Kevin Orloski.
He then underwent imaging when the club returned to Seattle, which revealed “nothing serious, nothing structurally concerning,” according to general manager Justin Hollander.
But Muñoz had been unavailable in the three games since, including a 10th-inning win over the Astros on Wednesday, when there were multiple pockets that he would’ve typically been deployed.
“He continued to feel discomfort when he got home,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after Seattle’s 7-5 loss to the Angels. “And with where we are in the season, it made a lot of sense to IL him at this point. There's no reason to push at this point in the season for him, and as much as we want him out there, if he's not able to go, then then you've got to think twice.”
Muñoz finishes 2026 with a 4.24 ERA (92 ERA+, where league average is 100) and 28 saves over 61 outings -- a far cry from his All-Star seasons in 2024 and ‘25. Muñoz also was tied with the Nationals’ Kyle Finnegan with an MLB-high 10 blown saves.
He did finish with a 37.1% strikeout rate, which was his highest since 2022, but he also had a 10% walk rate (above the MLB average of 8.9%) that proved costly, correlating to a 1.22 WHIP and a .667 OPS against.
The Mariners had plenty of challenges in this extremely disappointing season, and Muñoz -- at least for his past reliability -- was a notable part of the bullpen’s struggles. That group has been tagged for 39 homers since the All-Star break, tied with Washington for the most in the sport, including five in that stretch off Muñoz, who finished with a career-high nine.