Closer Robert Suarez of the San Diego Padres has been named the National League Reliever of the Month for March/April, and a fellow All-Star stopper, Andrés Muñoz, of the Seattle Mariners has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month for March/April. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Suarez claimed his second career Reliever of the Month Award after winning last May. He is one of seven Padres to earn the honor, joining Trevor Hoffman (May 2005, September 2006 & May 2007); Heath Bell (April 2009); Brad Hand (July 2017 & May 2018); Kirby Yates (April 2019); Mark Melancon (April 2021); and Josh Hader (April 2023). Muñoz also earned his second career Reliever of the Month Award after previously winning in August 2023. It is the eighth monthly honor for a Seattle reliever, following Edwin Diaz’s five wins in July 2017, April 2018, June 2018, July 2018 and August 2018; and J.J. Putz’s honor in June 2007.
Robert Suarez, San Diego Padres (@robertsuarez_75)
- The 34-year-old right-hander compiled a 0.64 ERA while converting each of his 12 save opportunities across 14 appearances. In 14.0 innings pitched, the Venezuela native permitted just one run on five hits with three walks and 16 strikeouts while limiting the opposition to a .106 batting average.
- The 12 saves by Suarez ranked first in the Majors while his .106 opponents’ batting average was third in the NL and tied for fifth in the Majors among all pitchers with at least 14.0 innings pitched.
- The 2024 NL All-Star is one of just five Padres pitchers to reach at least 10 saves in March/April, and he is the first in the group to accomplish the feat twice following his 10 saves to open the 2024 campaign. Other San Diego relievers to reach 10 saves before the start of May in a single season include Kirby Yates (14 in 2019); Mark Davis (11 in 1989) en route to the NL Cy Young Award; Josh Hader (10 in 2023); and Huston Street (10 in 2014).
- Suarez picked up his 10th save of the season with a perfect ninth inning during a 2-0 victory over the Tigers in Detroit on April 22nd. The 10th save came in San Diego’s 24th contest of the season, tied for the third-fewest team games to reach 10 saves in a season for a Padres pitcher.
- Suarez, who has converted each of his last 15 save opportunities dating back to last season, began his season with six straight hitless appearances to become the first pitcher in franchise history to accomplish the feat. The stretch currently ranks as the third-longest to start the 2025 campaign behind seven hitless appearances from Arizona’s Shelby Miller and an active seven-game stretch from Kansas City’s Steven Cruz.
Andrés Muñoz, Seattle Mariners (@andresmunoz64)
- The 26-year-old right-hander went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA across 15 appearances in March/April, converting each of his 11 save opportunities. In 15.0 innings pitched, he
surrendered five hits and six walks with 19 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .106 batting average. - Muñoz led the AL with 11 saves, finishing second in the Majors behind only Suarez, while his .106 opponents’ batting average was third in the AL and tied with Suarez for fifth in the Majors among pitchers with at least 14.0 innings pitched.
- The Mexico native, who recorded at least one strikeout in 14 of his 15 games, made four appearances in extra innings, stranding the automatic baserunner on all four occasions.
- Muñoz opened the season with saves in each of his first three outings, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to accomplish the feat since Edwin Díaz in 2018.
- The 2024 AL All-Star, who set a franchise record with 12 consecutive hitless appearances last summer, has not allowed a hit in each of his last seven contests since April 16th, yielding just two walks with seven strikeouts across 7.0 innings during the span.
Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included José Alvarado (3-0, 1.84 ERA, 5 SV, 14 G, 14.2 IP, 15 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 21 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; Emilio Pagán (0-1, 2.51 ERA, 8 SV, 15 G, 14.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 14 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds; Kyle Leahy (0-0, 1.47 ERA, 15 G, 18.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 16 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Suarez’s bullpen-mate Jason Adam (2-0, 1.06 ERA, 16 G, 17.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 8 BB, 23 SO) of the Padres; and Jake Bird (0-0, 0.95 ERA, 13 G, 19.0 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 10 BB, 26 SO) of the Colorado Rockies.
Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included Luke Weaver (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV, 12 G, 14.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 14 SO) of the New York Yankees; Carlos Estévez (1-0, 2.40 ERA, 9 SV, 14 G, 15.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 9 BB, 13 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; Jeff Hoffman (3-0, 1.17 ERA, 6 SV, 13 G, 15.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 22 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays; Bryan Abreu (0-1, 2.08 ERA, 14 G, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 8 BB, 18 SO) and Steven Okert (1-0, 0.60 ERA, 1 SV, 13 G, 15.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 17 SO) of the Houston Astros; and Mason Miller (0-0, 1.64 ERA, 9 SV, 11 G, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 22 SO) and Justin Sterner (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 14 G, 14.2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 9 BB, 18 SO) of the Athletics.