Checking in on Andres Munoz. Could we see him this Season?

The Seattle Mariners are in the thick of things with just two games remaining. As we sit at this moment, the Mariners are 1 game out of the 2nd Wild Card and essentially must win out to have a shot at the playoffs. So, what if they decide to get creative and bring up their rehabbing fireball throwing reliever Andres Munoz for the last two games and potentially the playoffs? Having all hands (or arms in this case) on deck for the final push wouldn’t be the worst idea. But, is he ready to pitch in high leverage situations yet?

Bringing up Andres Munoz for the last two games of the season seems unlikely.

With the Mariners already shuffling Matt Brash from AA to AAA to the MLB in a matter of weeks, it seems very unlikely that they would risk potential injury to Munoz by activating him off the 60-Day IL. However, it would be a good sign that he has progressed efficiently through his Tommy-John surgery recovery process.

Munoz has yet to pitch above the AAA level since the Mariners acquired Munoz in a trade with the Padres last season. As seen below, Munoz would be the fourth and final player from this trade to play in the Major Leagues this season for the Mariners.

Munoz has been mainly pitching in the ACL league down in Arizona, where Harry Ford and other younger Mariners prospects have been starting their professional baseball careers. As my fellow SoDo Mojo colleague Ryota Nishino noted, Munoz was set to return to the bullpen in June.

Obviously, that plan has changed because we have not seen him pitch yet this season. It seems that the Mariners have been more focused on slowly but surely progressing him through his rehabilitation process. Below are some videos of Munoz in action, both in the ACL league in Arizona and his more recent outings with AAA Tacoma last month.

There is only one game left in the year, and it’s the biggest one the Mariners have had in quite some time. Munoz was activated recently, so there is a chance that he could be put in the game at some point if need be. We know he’s thrown a bit this year in the Minors, but with everything on the line for the Mariners, it could be a tough time to debut Munoz in the 2021 season.