Jose Ferrer hopes to bring fun and ‘muchos ceros’ to Mariners’ bullpen

It is hard to miss new Seattle Mariners reliever Jose Ferrer on a baseball field.

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He is in constant motion going about his work, always with a smile. While warming up for a bullpen on the outfield of Field 1. In between throws, dancing to the music playing over the complex speakers. When done with his warmup a bit ahead of schedule, ambling onto the shallow outfield grass right behind where the infielders are taking their work with coach Perry Hill.

Standing behind middle infielder Leo Rivas, Ferrer mimes the plays Rivas makes for the better part of two minutes before dancing his way back to his catcher in the outfield.

In his bullpen session he throws bullets, mostly hitting his targets. When pitching coach Pete Woodworth steps up to the plate to get a better look, first as a right-handed batter, then left, Ferrer shakes through everything his catcher calls multiple times, finally settling on his two-seamer.

“I already called that,” the exasperated catcher yells.

Fererr just smiles as Woodworth has the look of someone who might be reconsidering his decision to get a closer look.

“I think I’m always trying to be the guy that’s having fun here and at home,” Ferrer said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “I don’t know. I feel like sometimes some electricity just hits me and I’m just trying to be that fun guy, the fun teammate. This baseball game can be hard sometimes. If I see we’re all relaxed, just having a good time, I’m going to be the guy that starts clowning around first, making sure everyone’s having a good time. Because I feel like sometimes, and I’m talking in terms of baseball, where we become very serious, sometimes we just get a little confused. Sometimes we forget to just relax and have fun. And, I’m definitely going to try to be the guy that reminds everybody to just, let’s have fun and be the first one to try to crack a smile.”

The demeanor and smile earned him the nickname “Chucky” – yes, that Chucky – while with the Nationals.

“A bullpen coach gave it to me, and then it just kind of blew up from there,” Ferrer said with a laugh. “Everybody started calling me that. But I look at it and take it a positive spin on it. You see this evil doll and no matter what they do to it, they can chop his head off, throw him in the trash can or whatever. The next day he reappears like normal, you know? So the positive spin on it is, baseball’s a tough game. You have a bad game, the next day you try to come in and it’s a new day, new guy.”

It’s the attitude you need to have in order to survive as a high-leverage reliever, and Ferrer seems to have it in spades. Last year he got a taste of what it is like to be that guy as he assumed closer duties when Kyle Finnegan was traded by Washington. On Aug. 9, he earned his first big league save, then converted his next eight straight opportunities.

“I’m an aggressive pitcher, a pitcher that when there’s a lot of pressure put on me, that’s where I feel like I exceed the most. I’m just going to go out there and battle no matter the situation.”

When asked what he hoped to bring to the Mariners’ bullpen, his answer needed little translation.

“Muchos ceros,” he said confidently.

Ferrer brings with him a heavy sinker that has helped him put those ceros up on the board. The pitch averaged 97.7 mph, and it is clearly a pitch he has fallen in love with, throwing it almost 62% of the time. It is a put-in-play pitch, however, with a whiff rate of just 16.1% as opposed to his changeup and slider that have tremendous swing-and-miss ability.

While the Mariners would like to see him throw the slider in particular a bit more, for now they aren’t forcing the issue as they want him comfortable as he adapts to a new league and team. For his part, Ferrer appears to know it is something that could benefit him. When asked what he could do to improve his already good numbers, his answer pointed to more swing and miss.

“I think for me it’s more strikeouts,” he said. “More strikeouts means less contact, which means less chance of an error or whatever happens. I think I’m a pitcher that I’ve proven that you get that soft contact, those soft outs. But I think for me, trying to increase that percentile in strikeouts, I think that is just something that will definitely help the team and help me.”

Someone who could help direct Ferrer towards throwing his slider more is All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz. While he didn’t know Muñoz before coming to the Mariners, Ferrer knew of Muñoz and has tremendous respect for what he did and how he went about his business. What he perhaps doesn’t know is there was a time Muñoz was every bit as in love with his high-velocity fastball as hat Ferrer currently is. The slider, however, has been a game changer. At some point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Muñoz doesn’t encourage Ferrer to throw his more. If he does, a huge benefit will be that the conversation will be in Spanish.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been around a guy like that,” Ferrer said. “In Washington I had my teammate Finnegan, but we didn’t talk as much just because all he spoke was English. Having Muñoz, him talking Spanish being Mexican, being able to help me and being able to ask questions, he’s definitely been a big help and a great teammate to me.”

Having spent his entire career in the Nationals organization after signing as a 17 year old out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, these relationships are helping with a transition that can often be difficult. Ferrer already looks like he is at home with the Mariners. How that translates on the field remains to be seen, but there is little question he should be a plus in an already very good bullpen.

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