Why Mariners’ Andrés Muñoz is always seeking veteran advice

Andrés Muñoz speaks with reverence about the veterans around him. J.P. Crawford, the longest tenured Seattle Mariners player, holds a special place with him. It is Crawford who often makes the most impactful mound visits when Muñoz is on the hill.

M’s GM doesn’t rule out top two pitching prospects debuting in ’26

“He’s really calm,” Muñoz said after a day of work at the Mariners spring training complex. “He transmits that to you. He gives me a lot of confidence. He just goes straight to the point. He’s like, ‘hey compa (friend), relax.’ As soon as he talks, I am somebody who respects a lot the (service) time people have. I listen to everybody, but we have to respect the time they have because they have earned respect.

“Being here for a lot of time is hard. They’ve been here a lot more time than me, we have to respect it.”

Muñoz first set foot in Mariners big league camp in 2022, having just turned 24 and coming off two seasons lost to injury. Since then he has pitched in 240 major league games, been selected to two All-Star teams and pitched in two postseasons, surrendering a run in just one of 11 playoff appearances. Having turned into one of the top closers in baseball while accumulating six years of service time, putting him in the same category he has placed Crawford in, would seem appropriate perhaps to many. Muñoz would not put himself in that group, however.

“Not really,” he answered when asked if he felt more of a veteran this year. “Obviously I feel with more experience, I’ve been for a little bit in the big leagues, I feel I have been learning a lot. The important thing is I have been asking questions. I have been learning from people who have played longer. I think that is why I have felt better now is I know a little bit more about myself. I have been learning a lot about how to handle the ninth inning, what I do in different situations, what I can do to fix something when it goes wrong.”

Muñoz’s approach is that the learning should never stop, and there should never be any shortage of those he can learn from. On the team, it is players like Crawford and Luis Castillo who he said had the same vibe.

“I talk with him the most,” Muñoz said of Castillo. “As soon as I feel something is not right, I just go to him and he helps me a lot in the season.”

He also talks to fellow relievers throughout the league. It is not uncommon to see him emerge from the dugout during or after batting practice to meet with an opposing pitcher behind home plate.

“It’s the way to learn,” he said. “I am really thankful for everybody who is open to teach. Some people might think that is bad; actually it is not. We have a really good communication, a really good relationship with everybody. They are open to teach and I am open to learn. That’s really good.”

Muñoz says no opponent has ever declined to answer his questions and counts Carlos Estévez in Kansas City, Josh Hader in Houston and Aroldis Chapman in Boston as some of the conversations he has gotten the most from.

“Chapman, I am still a fan,” he said. “I just look at the way he is, really simple. I remember one time when I texted him, I didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel good. We talked for a half hour. We talked about what I should do in situations, what I should do on off days. When experience talks, we have to listen.”

It has taken a village to raise one of the more fearsome arms in the majors, and in talking to him, it seems Muñoz wouldn’t have it any other way. The support, which starts at home with his family, extends to his clubhouse and around the league in what he sees as a close fraternity of those who are trusted with potential wins. Then there are his coaches – Mariners director of pitching Trent Blank and pitching coach Pete Woodworth.

“The way that Trent Blank and Woody help us is awesome,” said Muñoz. “They have been my coach for 4-5 years and they have been awesome for me. Really important in my career. I have to give a lot of credit to them because they maintain me in the same mind. I am really happy to have them here. They are really smart and they know how to handle situations. When we go in a different direction, they get us back.”

His appreciation for his situation and those around him is something that kept Muñoz in camp perhaps longer than any of the Mariners’ World Baseball Classic participants. Tuesday morning, he was still with the club. It was where he preferred to do his work. Tuesday afternoon however, he exchanged fistbumps with teammates, staff members and other well wishers as he finally made his exit to join Team Mexico.

You can watch the full interview at the top of this post. Included in the video, Muñoz talks about how SpongeBob SquarePants helped him learn English and a unique challenge he still faces with the language, how he handled the abrupt end to the Mariners’ 2025 season, and of course his cat Matilda.

More from Seattle Mariners spring training

• Josh Naylor named Canada captain for World Baseball Classic
• Mariners Notebook: J.P. returns; Bryce Miller tests out oblique
• Three unexpected early standouts from Mariners camp
• Brendan Donovan showing he’s a ‘tremendous’ add in clubhouse
• Three Seattle Mariners their hitting coach is high on

Related

Watch: How Logan Gilbert started chasing velocityIchiro to headline Mariners Alumni Home Run Derby at T-Mobile ParkNo doubt: Julio gives red-hot Mariners what they needNo Drama: J.P. Crawford, calm in the Mariners’ stormWhy Cal Raleigh going on IL is good for him and the MarinersDrayer: After big series win, can Mariners be what they hoped?