After injury-riddled 2023 for Mariners, Andrés Muñoz lighting up the radar gun

by · The Seattle Times

PEORIA, Ariz. — Two down, one rarin’ to go.

That’s the situation at the back end of the Mariners’ bullpen early in spring training, which features three of baseball’s most electrifying young arms in Andres Muñoz, Matt Brash and the newly acquired Gregory Santos.

Brash and Santos have been shut down from throwing with unspecified injuries. Manager Scott Servais said he’s not overly concerned at this stage, but there is no set timetable for when either one could step on the mound again.

It’s a much different vibe for Muñoz, who looks like he’s already ready for opening day to arrive.

The 25-year-old Muñoz has topped out at 101 mph with his two-seam fastball early in camp, and he was nearly untouchable in his first live batting practice facing mostly minor-league hitters on a backfield Saturday afternoon.

He struck out five of the six batters he faced, throwing 17 strikes on 21 pitches and mixing in all three of his pitches (four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball and slider).

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“I feel great,” he said right afterward.

More importantly, he said he was still feeling good a day later, some much-needed good news for a bullpen that the Mariners expected again to be one of their strengths.

It’s a welcome development for Muñoz, in particular, after he’d spent much of the 2023 season hampered by injuries.

He had surgery on right ankle in the fall of 2022, delaying his throwing program leading up to spring training last year. Then he missed two months early in the 2023 season with a shoulder strain.

Even after he returned in June — and converted 11 of his 13 save chances following the Paul Sewald trade — he said he was never quite 100% last season.

“It was a hard time — it was a hard time with this [touches his shoulder] because I knew I could help the team more, but I wasn’t able to do it,” said Muñoz, who posted a 2.94 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 22 walks over 49 innings.

This offseason, Muñoz and his wife, Wendy, returned to their hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico. They had met through track and field; she was a runner, he was a triple jumper, before signing his first pro baseball contract when he was 15.

His ankle feeling strong again this winter, Muñoz was able to return to the track on which he grew up competing, going through his track-and-field training regime with his old track coach.

He’d work out for four hours most evenings at the track, his focus on strengthening his lower half. He showed up to camp looking trimmer and feeling as strong as he has in several years.

“I had a really good offseason,” he said. “I learned a lot — a lot about myself, about my body and who I react to different workouts.”

For throwing sessions, Muñoz would play catch with Helmer, one of his older brothers. Helmer never played baseball — Helmer and Miguel, the oldest brother, both threw the javelin — but has never been afraid to squat and serve as his little brother’s catcher. Wendy is often close by charting pitches.

The early results in camp are encouraging. He topped triple digits in his first bullpen session and — best of all in his mind — he has regained confidence in his slider.

During Muñoz’s breakout season in 2022, his slider was one of the most unhittable pitches in MLB. According to Statcast data, he threw his slider 64.6% of the time that season and hitters managed a mere .126 batting average (with a .120 “expected” average) and a 50.8% whiff rate.

After returning from the shoulder strain last season, Muñoz said he didn’t have the same feel for the pitch. His slider usage dropped to 48.6%, though the numbers show it was still effective: .230 batting average against (.197 “expected” average) and a 48.3% whiff rate.

“For some reason, I just didn’t have that (feel),” he said.

It’s back. His velocity is up to 90-92 mph with the slider in camp, and he’s confidence is quickly rising too.

“Finally,” he said.