Struggling Andrés Muñoz confirms what every Mariners fan already suspected

On April 15th, Andrés Muñoz took the mound while the Mariners were up 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. It should've been a straightforward non-save situation that would give Seattle a well-deserved win, but it ended in disaster as the team's typically reliable closer gave up five earned runs.

He left the mound with two runners aboard and on what should've been the final out, Jose A. Ferrer allowed both of these inherited runners to score.

It inflated Muñoz's ERA to 9.45, an almost meaningless number at this point in the season for a high-leverage pitcher, but a closer look at his numbers paints a potentially harrowing picture of what may be to come.

Andrés Muñoz has allowed more traffic than in years past and is exhibiting a deterioration in command

Even with a less-than-ideal ERA, Muñoz still has a lot of the qualities that made him great to begin with. His chase (40.0), whiff (44.3), and strikeout (36.8) rates are still elite and his slider continues to be his most valuable pitch. Opposing hitters are slugging just .227 against the pitch while whiffing more than half the time. However, it hasn't been as precise as in previous seasons.

After the outing, he told Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times that he was struggling to place the slider where he wanted. He also talked about being unable to find a grip that felt comfortable, a potentially bigger concern.

"I’ve been working a lot on that pitch, on the slider to get it back. I thought that I had it again with good movement and good location. The last three outings, it wasn’t … where I want it...Normally, I had the grip and would (throw) it as hard as I can. Now I have to find that grip. It’s been weird. And it’s been like that since last year too."

Andrés Muñoz

It's hard to believe that Muñoz had the same difficulties with his slider in 2025, as he finished the year with 38 saves and a career-best 1.73 ERA. However, his FIP of 2.04 and 23 pitching run value on his slider both came in 2022 and remain his personal records.

The slider has been excellent when placed where he wants it, but there have also been more waste pitches than he may have liked thus far. The downside of these waste pitches, aside from the obvious disadvantage of moving towards batter's counts, is that it forces him to use his four-seam fastball, a far more tempting option for opposing hitters.

On the bright side, Mariners pitching coach Trent Blank has expressed optimism about the future, stating that the shape and velocity of the pitch are right where they need to be. It was also effective in the team's victory against the Rangers on April 19th, generating three whiffs and no balls in play. Like the rest of the Seattle squad, he has real problems to fix before he turns his season around. Luckily, he still has plenty of time to do it.

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