This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- Andrés Muñoz isn’t going anywhere within the construction of the Mariners’ bullpen.
And manager Dan Wilson put any debate to that discussion to bed when firing the closer back out to lock down Monday’s win over the Orioles, one day after he took his fifth blown save of the season against the Tigers.
“I appreciate a lot the trust that they have in me,” Muñoz said. “Obviously, I let them down a few times, and they keep trusting me. It's an awesome feeling for me. What can I say? I'm working hard, I am doing everything that I have to do. I've never stopped working. Obviously, it's tough for me. But what's great is that they still have the confidence in me, and I'm just going to do what I do.”
For all the chatter coming out of that disastrous loss in Detroit, clamoring for Muñoz to be moved out of the ninth-inning role, the Mariners simply aren’t going to go down that route. They’re still bullish on his under-the-hood stuff, are adjusting his between-outings routine -- and more than anything, recognize that changing his role could compromise his confidence.
Because he wears the losses hard -- maybe too hard at times.
“We'll get to the other side, and we'll feel good about it again,” Wilson said before Monday’s game. “I think he's just in one of those spots right now, and it's tough. But you're right, I think he's doing the work to get through it, and we'll be good.”
Muñoz carries a 5.18 ERA (77 ERA+, where league average is 100), and he’s surrendered at least one earned run in eight of his 26 outings, matching his entire 2025 total over 64 outings.
The biggest culprit seems pretty clear: He’s falling behind early in counts, which then sets up hitters to ambush him when he steers back into the strike zone.
This year, Muñoz has been behind on 27.5% of his total pitches, which is above the 26.0% league average for relievers in the ninth inning and his 25.5% clip last year.
It might seem marginal but this quietly makes a substantial difference. Opposing hitters are batting .227 when ahead of Muñoz compared to .105 when behind. Sunday’s game-winning hit from Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle came in a 1-0 count, which followed two walks.
That said, Muñoz believes he has an answer, a simple one.
“My pitches are the best when I throw the hardest that I can,” Muñoz said. “So I just have to continue doing that.”
Muñoz isn’t sitting at 100.2 mph like he was in 2022, but he’s touched triple digits a dozen times. His 98.4 mph average fastball velocity ranks in Statcast’s 98th percentile, and he’s in the 99th percentile in whiff rate (42%), 98th in K rate (34.3%) and 97th in chase rate (37.5%).
“It's weird, because most other pitchers, when they throw the hardest that they can, they lose command,” Muñoz said. “With me, it's the opposite. When I try to place it, or when I try to just like baby one slider, it doesn't work for me. So, what I have to do is just throw the hardest that I can.
Monday’s move to stick with Muñoz for the ninth-inning role came well before setup man Matt Brash landed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain. It was also before Jose A. Ferrer grinded through a season-high 42 pitches and surrendered two game-tying runs in an eventual win Tuesday.
Basically, the Mariners’ bullpen is collectively going through it.
“The important thing is how you turn the page and go back the next day stronger. ... I think [it] humbles you a little bit,” Muñoz said. “And I don't know. I'm just going to keep working and keep trying to do my job the best that I can.”