Two ESPN insiders call Mariners’ Muñoz the best reliever in baseball

Seattle Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz is tied for the MLB lead with 17 saves this season, has the best opponent batting average (.108) among relief pitchers with at least 13 innings pitched, and still has a spotless 0.00 ERA over 22 2/3 innings – the most innings of any pitcher in MLB who has yet to allow an earned run.

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Yeah, the 26-year-old right-hander has been pretty good this season. So good, he has a pair of ESPN personalities making some pretty bold claims about him.

On an edition of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast last week, Paul Hembekides – aka “Hembo” – ran through a list of things that stand out about Muñoz and proclaimed him “the best closer, the best relief pitcher in all of baseball right now.”

Andrés Muñoz has ridden a demonic pitch mix to become baseball’s best closer. From Wednesday’s pod 👇 pic.twitter.com/R5Zo4zOmL7

— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) May 22, 2025

And when ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk for his usual Tuesday morning conversation, he agreed with Hembo’s point.

“Best reliever – I mean, like, is there an argument against it at this point?” Passan said.

Passan went on to explain what has made Muñoz, who was a first-time All-Star in 2024, even better this season.

“What Muñoz has done is refine his game enough where he’s not walking guys very frequently anymore,” he said. “Because he’s got the fastball velocity average 99 mph and can spot that as a weapon… The slider is a nasty, unfair pitch.

“And so when you take a guy whose four-seam fastball has gas, whose sinker is a really nice sort of – it’s not a change of pace, but it just gives guys a different look – and then you then you add the slider into that, and we don’t even know when he’s going to or if he’s going to unleash the kick-change.”

That new changeup, which Muñoz first tried in spring training and has thrown four times this season according to Statcast, could be an interesting X-factor going forward.

“It’s hilarious to me that the guy can be the best reliever in baseball,” Passan said, “and oh by the way, he’s got something else in his pocket that he’s hiding away for a rainy day – and I imagine we’re going to see it at some point.”

The tricky part for the Mariners, though, is how much they use Muñoz. Passan pointed out that the AL West leaders may need to be thinking about October when they considering calling for him out of the bullpen.

“To me, the the most important thing when it comes to Andres Muñoz right now is that (Mariners manager) Dan Wilson does not overuse him,” Passan said. “They need a fresh Muñoz for the postseason, a guy who maybe is in a position to get a four- or five- or even six-out save. Because when it gets down to to crunch time in those playoff games, you wanna go with the guy who got you there, and Andres Muñoz is a big reason why the Mariners are where they are right now.”

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan joins Brock and Salk at 8:30 a.m. each Tuesday during the baseball season. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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