Mariners’ Andrés Muñoz lands on ESPN insider’s list for spring buzz

Mar 6, 2025, 10:35 AM

Editor, Seattle Sports

If you’ve been following along with Seattle Mariners spring training for the last few weeks, you know that closer Andrés Muñoz has some buzz around him for the upcoming season.

We now know that the excitement is not limited to Mariners camp.

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ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan put together a list of players who scouts are buzzing about this spring that was published Wednesday, and Muñoz was one of just 10 players to get a profile in the piece.

So why does Muñoz, who has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in three straight seasons and had a WHIP under 1.00 in two of those campaigns, suddenly have attention on him? Because in addition to his usual triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider, he recently unveiled a new weapon that has a chance to be his best pitch.

“As if the guy with a 100 mph fastball and one of the best sliders in baseball needed another weapon,” Passan wrote, “Muñoz is now throwing a kick changeup, in which he spikes his middle finger on the seam to kick the spin axis sideways and promote late movement. The result is a special sort of nastiness that set Mariners camp abuzz this spring.”

That it has.

Mariners insider Shannon Drayer was witness to the first bullpen when Muñoz broke out the kick change, and reported that it dropped a total of 10 inches according to Trackman data, prompting fellow M’s reliever Matt Brash to call it the “best pitch I have ever seen.”

Second pitch in is the Munoz change. He cautioned after he’s only thrown it once, doesn’t know where he is going with the pitch but man, the reaction. We shall see! pic.twitter.com/xd25LeSk74

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) February 22, 2025

More: Mariners camp is buzzing about an Andrés Muñoz pitch

In Passan’s piece, he went on to heap more praise not just on Muñoz but the entire Mariners pitching staff. That’s because in addition to Muñoz adding to his repertoire, Seattle’s bullpen has more healthy impact arms than a year ago (including Brash and Gregory Santos, who are both coming off injuries last season) to go with its lights-out starting rotation.

“Muñoz already is one of the game’s top relievers. If Seattle can… marry (an improved bullpen) with a starting staff filled with top-of-the-rotation arms, the Mariners could have the best pitching in the game,” Passan wrote.

Passan, by the way, is scheduled to join Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday morning.

The 26-year-old Muñoz made his MLB debut in 2019 with the San Diego Padres, and he’s been good ever since his first full season with the Mariners in 2022. Last year, however, was Muñoz at his best. The 6-foot-2, 222-pound right-hander was a first-time All-Star and finished 2024 with career-high marks in ERA (2.12), saves (22) and hits per nine innings (4.7). He also had a strong 0.96 WHIP over his 60 appearances (59 1/3 innings).

And to think, he may be tapping into a pitch even better than what he’s thrown in the big leagues to date.

As for this spring, Muñoz made his second appearance of 2025 in a Cactus League game on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless inning against Kansas City. He allowed one hit, struck out two, and threw 11 strikes out of his 14 pitches.

The Mariners are splitting up the squad Thursday with a pair of 5:40 p.m. Cactus League games. Seattle will host the Angels in Peoria, Ariz., while at the same time sending another squad to Scottsdale to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. There will be a live radio broadcast for the game against the Angels on Seattle Sports, while there will be a TV broadcast of the game against the D-backs on ROOT Sports.