ARLINGTON – No reliever had a more impressive opening month than Seattle’s Andrés Muñoz, who went 11 for 11 in save opportunities and hasn’t allowed a run in 15 appearances. Fittingly, Muñoz earned recognition for his terrific month, being named the AL Reliever of the Month on Friday a few hours before the Mariners opened a three-game series at the Rangers.
“I am feeling great right now,” Muñoz said. “Obviously we have to keep working every day. For me, I have to maintain this and have to keep doing the work that I have to do, keep doing the little things. Maybe you don’t see it that much, but it’s really important during the game.”
Muñoz went on to provide examples such as knowing how the defense is aligned behind him and not taking any batter for granted.
“This is the big leagues, everybody is dangerous here,” he said. “You have to be careful with everybody. At the same time, attack.”
That’s a balance Muñoz is doing as well as any pitcher. The hard-throwing right-hander has 19 strikeouts to six walks (two intentional), and has allowed only five hits over his 15 innings, holding opponents to a .106 average. He’s also stranded the automatic baserunner in extra innings on four separate occasions.
Muñoz might be best known for his 100 mph fastball, but he mentioned his slider as a pitch he’s very confident in. He feels his location on the slider has improved compared to last year.
“Last year, I feel like I missed a lot of spots that I wanted to hit,” Muñoz said. “This year, I’m a little bit more confident throwing it in the strike zone, [especially] with two strikes down and away.”
Muñoz made his first All-Star team in 2024, finishing the season with a 2.12 ERA and 22 saves over 59 1/3 innings. Over his six-year career, Muñoz has saved 51 games with a career ERA of 2.46 over 214 appearances.
Now, though, he’s positioned himself to be in the conversation as best closer in the game.
“He just has done such a great job in that game-saving role,” manager Dan Wilson said. “He’s just continued to learn and settle in. It’s been a really good spot and I think he’s getting more and more comfortable. We’ve been in positions I think because of the offense to be in that ahead in the ninth kind of spot and when he’s gone out there, he’s been lights-out.”