Andres Munoz

West Notes: Lamet, Munoz, Hudson, Rendon, Rodriguez

By Mark Polishuk | May 29, 2023 at 10:41pm CDT

The Rockies plan to activate Dinelson Lamet from the 15-day injured list to start their Wednesday game with the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link). Reports surfaced last week that Limet was being considered for a return to starting pitching, and with the Rockies increasingly desperate for rotation help, Limet will get a look as a starter for the first time since the 2021 season when he was still a member of the Padres. Karl Kauffmann has already been optioned to Triple-A, creating space for Lamet on the active roster. Lower back tightness has kept Lamet out of action for almost all of May, and he struggled to a 12.66 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings this season prior to his injury.

Some more items from both the NL and AL West…

Andres Munoz will start a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday, as the Mariners reliever is on the way back from a deltoid strain that has sidelined him since April 8. Thought to be a minor injury at the time, Munoz was then bothered by a sore shoulder that required a PRP injection, extending his time on the IL to just shy of two months. Munoz only pitched 3 1/3 innings over four appearances before heading to the injured list, but assuming everything goes as planned, he’ll be back in the Seattle bullpen and looking to follow up his outstanding 2022 season.
Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that he will throw a bullpen on Tuesday. It’s a positive step for Hudson, who hasn’t pitched since tearing his left UCL last June. During the last update on Hudson two weeks ago from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the veteran righty was throwing but without any specific plans for a rehab assignment due to some continued discomfort in his knee. Hudson said today that he’d received a cortisone injection in his knee, and was hoping that the bullpen session would be the first step towards a “ramp up” of his recovery.
Angels GM Perry Minasian provided some news on some injured Halos players to the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher and other reporters, though neither Anthony Rendon or Chris Rodriguez seems close to a return. Rendon has been taking part in some light baseball activities, but even with more than two weeks passed since Rendon hit the 10-day IL due to a groin strain, Minasian wasn’t sure of a timeline for when Rendon might return or take on a fuller rehab process. Rodriguez underwent shoulder surgery in November 2021 and didn’t pitch at all in 2022, then had a setback in early April after starting the season on the 15-day IL. It doesn’t appear as though there was any further damage to Rodriguez’s shoulder, as Minasian said the team has “done what we need to do medically” to assess the situation, and Rodriguez is throwing again but not off a mound.

Mariners Notes: Caballero, Wong, Moore, Bullpen

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2023 at 11:18am CDT

Rookie infielder Jose Caballero’s initial call-up to the Mariners’ roster was expected to be a short-term stint to provide some depth while utilityman Sam Haggerty dealt with a concussion, but he’s parlaying that opportunity into a larger role. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes, he’s already made a strong impression on manager Scott Servais.

“From the day he showed up here, he was not in awe of anything,” Servais said of Caballero, going on to praise the 26-year-old’s baserunning, on-base ability and defense. “…He understands how to play and he doesn’t back off.” President of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto had similar praise, telling Corey Brock of The Athletic that Caballero “has been terrific in every way.”

Caballero has indeed impressed, surging out to a .276/.371/.431 batting line with a pair of homers, three doubles and a 6-for-6 showing on the basepaths through his first 24 games (70 plate appearances). He’s had a bit of good fortune on balls in play (.333), but even if his average took a slight step back, an 11.4% walk rate would keep his on-base percentage plenty strong.

The plate discipline hasn’t been a small-sample fluke, either; Caballero has a career 13% walk rate in the minors and has chased pitches off the plate at a lower rate than the average big leaguer thus far in his young career. Statcast also credits him with 92nd percentile sprint speed, so there’s good reason to believe he can keep swiping bags at a high rate of success.

Caballero’s immediate strong play further shines a light on the mounting struggles of veteran second baseman Kolten Wong, whose .177/.259/.208 batting line (108 plate appearances, 40 wRC+) ranks among the worst in baseball. Wong’s 20.4% strikeout rate is the worst of his career, and he’s making hard contact at career-worst levels as well (85 mph average exit velo, 24% hard-hit). Statcast ranks Wong in the fifth percentile of MLB players or lower in each of hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, barrel rate, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage and expected wOBA. His once plus sprint speed is down to the 37th percentile as well.

In the wake of such a miserable start to the season, Wong has already begun to cede time at second base to Caballero. The rookie has made five starts at second base since Wong’s name was last penciled into the starting lineup. Wong has been on the bench, but the Mariners will have to figure out how to align their infield and bench mix before long. Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters yesterday that utilityman Dylan Moore could be reinstated from the injured list during the team’s current homestand (Twitter link via Divish).

Moore, who over the winter signed a three-year, $8.875MM contract that bought his final arbitration seasons and one free-agent year, has yet to play in 2023 due to oblique and core injuries. He’s played in four minor league rehab games, however, and the team apparently believes he could be back on the big league roster with only a few more. The current homestand runs through May 31.

The 30-year-old Moore has had an up-and-down run with the Mariners since debuting in 2019, alternating between poor and strong showings at the plate on an every-other-year basis. He’s a career .208/.317/.384 hitter, though as evidenced by a .255/.358/.496 showing in 159 plate appearances in 2020 and a .224/.368/.385 line in 255 plate appearances last year, he has plenty of on-base ability and some pop in his bat. Moore has 35 home runs and 65 steals in 381 career games, and he’s drawn outstanding defensive ratings at second base, third base and in both outfield corners.

Seattle’s bench currently consists of backup catcher Tom Murphy, the aforementioned Haggerty (who has had minimal playing time so far) and struggling veterans Wong and AJ Pollock. Barring an injury elsewhere in the lineup, it’s likely someone from that bench group will be displaced by Moore’s return. Haggerty has minor league options remaining, and that route would preserve more depth, but he batted .256/.335/.403 last season in 201 plate appearances, showing plenty of defensive versatility himself. The Mariners will have to weigh that against the poor starts of both Wong and Pollock in determining their preferred course of action.

The Mariners are also anticipating a return to health for some important bullpen arms (Twitter links via Divish). Closer Andres Munoz and righty Penn Murfee are both expected to join the Mariners on their upcoming road trip, which runs from June 1-11. Munoz has been throwing bullpen sessions, and Murfee has responded well to a platelet-rich plasma injection. Both will need quick tune-ups on minor league rehab stints, but they’re only a matter of weeks away.

Munoz, 24, broke out as one of the best relievers in baseball in 2022 when he pitched to a 2.49 ERA with a stellar 38.7% strikeout rate against a 6% walk rate. He averaged a whopping 100.3 mph on his heater, and his 21.6% swinging-strike rate trailed only Edwin Diaz among all big league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

Murfee, meanwhile, has pitched 82 1/3 innings of 2.73 ERA ball dating back to last year’s MLB debut. He’s fanned 27.9% of his opponents against an 8.3% walk rate without displaying the type of platoon splits that many fellow sidearmers tend to carry. Lefties have batted just .210/.297/.305 against Murfee, while right-handers have posted an even more dreadful .165/.232/.303 slash.

Evan White To Undergo Hip Surgery

By Anthony Franco | May 9, 2023 at 7:25pm CDT

Mariners first baseman Evan White will undergo another procedure on his left hip, the team informed reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). The recovery estimate is three months.

White is already on the 60-day injured list. He suffered an adductor strain two games into his Triple-A season and was initially expected to miss two months. That won’t come to be, as White unfortunately is headed under the knife yet again. His 2021 campaign was cut short by the first surgery he underwent on his left hip. The former first round draftee then missed the bulk of last season due to a sports hernia surgery.

For a third consecutive year, White is now going to be sidelined by a notable procedure. The initial estimate suggests he could return sometime in August, though the organization would surely be cautious with his ramp-up based on his extensive injury history. Even in the best case scenario, he’s now set to miss the majority of the year.

White hasn’t played a big league game since 2021. A well-regarded prospect during his time climbing the minor league ranks, he stumbled to a .165/.235/.308 line in 306 MLB plate appearances between 2020-21. He’s spent the bulk of the past couple years on the injured list and has only gotten Triple-A reps when healthy enough to take the field.

The Mariners signed White to a $24MM extension before he made his big league debut. He’s making $3MM this season and due successive salaries of $7MM and $8MM over the next two years. The Mariners have a pair of club options thereafter but they’re certainly trending towards declining those given White’s various health issues.

Seattle also got unfortunate news on star reliever Andrés Muñoz. The hard-throwing righty has been out since April 8 with a deltoid strain. He’d been nearing a rehab assignment but suffered a minor setback. Divish tweets that he experienced some shoulder soreness during a recent bullpen session. The M’s sent Muñoz for an MRI, which revealed some inflammation. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and isn’t expected to begin a minor league stint until the end of the month.

Muñoz was one of the game’s best relievers in 2022. He worked to a 2.49 ERA through 65 innings, striking out an incredible 38.7% of batters faced while keeping his walks to a solid 6% rate. That understandably earned him plenty of high-leverage looks as the season wore on, as he saved four games and held 22 more leads.

Dylan Moore Headed For MRI With Core Discomfort

By Anthony Franco | April 21, 2023 at 9:02pm CDT

Mariners utilityman Dylan Moore hasn’t played all season. He suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain during Spring Training, an injury that shut him down from baseball activities for a few weeks. It looked as if he was nearing his return, as he embarked on a rehab assignment with High-A Everett on Tuesday.

Moore only played in one game for the AquaSox, tallying three plate appearances. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that Moore experienced some core discomfort coming out of that game. He’ll be returned from his rehab assignment and head to Philadelphia for an MRI.

The right-handed hitter indicated his current soreness isn’t in the oblique area. It’s concerning nevertheless, as Moore had a core injury late last season that necessitated offseason surgery. His upcoming imaging will be with the surgeon who performed that procedure, according to Divish.

Moore signed a three-year extension in February. That was a testament to the value the Seattle front office and coaching staff put on his defensive flexibility, baserunning and right-handed bat. Moore’s offense has been up-and-down throughout his career, but he’s coming off a .224/.368/.385 showing in 255 plate appearances. Consistently high strikeout totals have resulted in a lowly .208 career batting average. Moore draws plenty of walks and has enough power to post roughly league average on-base (.317) and slugging (.384) marks after considering Seattle’s pitcher-friendly park.

The Mariners planned for Moore to platoon with trade acquisition Kolten Wong at second base. The lefty-hitting Wong has taken the bulk of the at-bats, with a handful of plate appearances going to Sam Haggerty and José Caballero. Seattle second basemen enter play Friday with a woeful .088/.171/.103 line over 77 trips, largely because of Wong’s frigid start with his new team. The veteran infielder is hitting .098/.190/.098 over 16 games as a Mariner.

In more fortunate injury news, reliever Andrés Muñoz is set to begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Tacoma next week, tweets the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude. Muñoz hit the injured list on April 8 with a deltoid strain. It seems he’s in line to return not long after a minimal 15-day absence. The flamethrowing right-hander worked 65 innings of 2.49 ERA ball with an elite 38.7% strikeout percentage last season, breaking through as one of the sport’s best late-game weapons.

Mariners Place Andres Munoz On 15-Day IL, Select J.B. Bukauskas

By Mark Polishuk | April 9, 2023 at 10:33am CDT

The Mariners announced five roster moves today, including the news that right-hander Andres Munoz has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 8) with a right deltoid strain. Seattle also placed first baseman Evan White on the 60-day IL with a left adductor strain, since it was known White would be out of action for the next two months. Right-handers Justin Topa and J.B. Bukauskas are up from Triple-A, and in Bukauskas’ case, the Mariners selected his contract. Matt Festa was optioned to Triple-A to create further space.

Coming off a dominant 2022 campaign, Munoz hasn’t allowed a run in 3 1/3 innings of work so far this season, though his strikeout rate has declined to only 20 percent. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and The Athletic’s Corey Brock) that imaging didn’t reveal any structural problems for Munoz, though he has been feeling pain in the back of his shoulder and he has had trouble recovering after outings. Likely related to this issue, the Mariners haven’t used Munoz on back-to-back days yet.

Munoz didn’t have quite a normal Spring Training, as the team took a slower progression to his ramp-up work as a nod to Munoz’s recovery from offseason foot surgery. It could be that Munoz just needs a little more time to properly build his arm strength, and the IL placement seems somewhat precautionary in nature. “We’re playing the long game,” Servais said, referring to the Mariners’ hope that this IL stint gets Munoz on track for the remainder of the season.

Seattle didn’t enter the season with a true closer, as while Paul Sewald got the bulk of save chances in 2022 and was expected for more or less the same this year, the M’s were taking a more situational approach to their late-game situations. Munoz was seen as a candidate to perhaps eventually become the first-choice closer, or the Mariners could have simply continued to use him when needed in any sort of high-leverage scenario. Servais said that Matt Brash will now get more usage in Munoz’s role with the righty out of action.

Bukauskas was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in January, and then designated for assignment and outrighted off of Seattle’s 40-man roster. His only other MLB action came in 2021, when he posted a 7.79 ERA over 17 1/3 innings for Arizona. A former top-100 prospect during his time in the Astros farm system, Bukauskas has posted some interesting numbers since becoming a full-time relief pitcher the minors, and the move to the bullpen looks to have solved the control problems that began to emerge for Bukauskas as a starter. He’ll now get another crack at the majors as part of the Mariners’ bullpen shuffle.

AL West Notes: Athletics, Bleday, Munoz, Trammell, deGrom, Eovaldi, Schroeder

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2023 at 10:05pm CDT

The Athletics announced several cuts to their Spring Training roster today, and outfielder JJ Bleday was one of the players optioned to Triple-A. Bleday had been competing with Cristian Pache and Esteury Ruiz for the center field job, and manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that “it’s not an easy decision” in picking between the trio since the A’s eventually want to see what all of them can do at the big league level. All of Pache, Ruiz, and Bleday will “impact this club at some point” in 2023, Kotsay said, but in determining the Opening Day roster “there’s going to be factors that go into it…not just performance but roster construction, depth at the position.”

Kotsay also noted that Pache might have an advantage since he is out of minor league options, whereas Ruiz and Bleday both have options remaining. Bleday and Ruiz each joined the A’s this offseason, as Bleday was acquired from the Marlins for A.J. Puk last month, and Ruiz came to Oakland as part of the big three-team, nine-player swap with the Brewers and Braves that saw Sean Murphy land in Atlanta. Pache, meanwhile, was part of last March’s blockbuster deal with Atlanta, as Pache was one of four players the A’s acquired in exchange for Matt Olson. Earlier this month, MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote about the many outfielders vying for playing time for Oakland this season, beyond just the center field situation.

Quick Hits: Muñoz, Sadler, Vavra

By Darragh McDonald | February 5, 2023 at 10:55am CDT

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke with the media this week, including Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN, in advance of the start of Spring Training. During those talks, Dipoto provided an update on reliever Andrés Muñoz.

Muñoz, 24, had a tremendous breakout last year, posting a 2.49 earned run average over 64 appearances. That ERA probably shortchanges Munoz a bit, who struck out 38.7% of batters faced while walking just 6% of them and got ground balls at a 52.6% clip. ERA estimators all thought he actually deserved better, including a 2.04 FIP, 1.84 xERA and 1.74 SIERA. After the club was eliminated from the postseason in October, he underwent foot surgery, but he’s already out of a walking boot and began a throwing program two weeks ago.

The fireballer has emerged as a key piece of the club’s bullpen, something they seemingly anticipated when they extended him after the 2021 season. The righty had just returned from Tommy John surgery and made a single appearance that year, but the M’s had enough faith to sign him to a four-year, $7.5MM extension with three club options. That could keep him as a fixture of the club’s relief corps through the 2028 season, and his current health is surely a good sign for the club going into 2023.

Other notes from around the league…

Dipoto also provided an update on another reliever in 32-year-old Casey Sadler, who is coming off a season lost to shoulder surgery but is going to be ready to go for Spring Training this year. In 2021, Sadler made 42 appearances for the M’s with a ridiculous 0.67 ERA. That level of run prevention was in no way sustainable, with Sadler benefitting from a .188 batting average on balls in play and 90.9% strand rate. But his 25.5% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 62.9% ground ball rate all point to an excellent campaign nonetheless, with Sadler pegged for a 2.48 FIP, 2.41 xERA and 3.06 SIERA. Unfortunately, he required the surgery on his shoulder in March of 2022, which kept him out for all of that year. The Mariners outrighted him off the roster in November but re-signed him to a minor league deal. “If we get that ’21 version of Casey Sadler with the bullpen group we currently have, that just takes us to a different level,” Dipoto said. Despite trading Erik Swanson to the Blue Jays in the Teoscar Hernández deal, the M’s bullpen is still pretty packed. Munoz should be joined by Paul Sewald, Diego Castillo, Matt Brash, Penn Murfee, Matt Festa and Trevor Gott, as well as Rule 5 draftee Chris Clarke. If the rotation is fully healthy, Chris Flexen should be in the bullpen as well as a long reliever. Sadler was so good in 2021 that he could force his way into the picture if he looks like he’s back on track. Despite the crowding, pitcher injuries are fairly inevitable and this pile of depth should serve Seattle well as the season progress.
Orioles utility player Terrin Vavra, 26 in May, cracked the majors last year and managed fairly well by hitting .258/.340/.337 in his first 103 plate appearances. That production was just barely below league average, with his wRC+ coming in at 97, though he hit a much sturdier .324/.435/.451 in Triple-A. Between the two levels, he played second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions, making him a usefully versatile piece of the club’s roster. It seems he’s not satisfied with that level of versatility and has been working to add first base to his repertoire this offseason. “I don’t think until I really play a game over there, I’ll truly feel the most comfortable, but that’s what spring training’s for,” Vavra tells Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun. “I think I’ll get some opportunities to showcase that and showcase other talents and try and make my case. I want to be able to show that I can do that, and I want the coaching staff to be confident if they had to send me out there, Day 1 of spring training even.” The O’s have been looking to find left-handed bats to complement right-hander Ryan Mountcastle in the first base mix, acquiring Lewin Díaz and Ryan O’Hearn this offseason, as well as signing Franchy Cordero, Josh Lester and Nomar Mazara to minor league deals. But Vavra, who also hits left-handed, could have a leg up on that group since none of them are on the 40-man but Vavra is. On the other hand, Vavra has option years remaining and could be ticketed for some more time in the minors if he gets squeezed off the active roster.

Details On Mariners’ Extension With Andres Munoz

By Nick Deeds | October 20, 2022 at 11:00pm CDT

MLBTR’s Steve Adams has details on the extension the Mariners signed reliever Andres Munoz to last offseason. At the time, the contract was known to have four years and $7.5MM guaranteed, with three club options available to Seattle. Adams reports that Munoz received a $750K signing bonus in addition to a $750K salary in 2022.

Going forward, Munoz will receive base salaries of $1.5MM, $2MM and $2.5MM from 2023-25, years he otherwise would have been eligible for arbitration. Seattle’s club options cover what would have been Munoz’s first three free agent years, with the options starting at $6MM in 2026 before increasing to $8MM in 2027 and finally $10MM in 2028. Those option years can be boosted by up to $1MM through escalators based on games finished the previous season. Finishing 20, 30, 40, and 45 games between 2025-27 would each escalate the following season’s club option by $250K. Hitting those same benchmarks during the 2026-28 campaigns would trigger an extra $500K apiece in incentives during that season. None of the options comes with a buyout.

Seattle’s confidence in Munoz was rewarded this season, as the righty was among the best relievers in the sport this season. In 65 regular season innings this year, Munoz posted a fantastic 2.49 ERA and an even more impressive 2.04 FIP while racking up 96 strikeouts before appearing in all five of Seattle’s games this postseason. Averaging 100 mph on his fastball, Munoz is a flamethrower who combines his 52.6% groundball rate (less than a percentage point behind the likes of Sandy Alcanatara) with the sixth highest strikeout rate in the majors this year. Among the five pitchers above him, only Jacob deGrom has a lower walk rate, and Munoz ranks third in all of baseball to only deGrom and Edwin Diaz in K/BB.

Munoz did all this while playing through injury, as president of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto announced yesterday that Munoz would undergo surgery on his foot this offseason. While no specifics were provided on the surgery, the expectation appears to be that Munoz will be ready for spring training next year.

Given Munoz’s elite stuff and results, the contract now looks like stellar value for the Mariners. At the time he signed the deal, Munoz was relatively new to the organization. He’d undergone Tommy John surgery in early 2020, and he was rehabbing from that when the M’s acquired him from the Padres at the 2020 trade deadline. He missed almost all of 2021, making just one appearance at the end of the campaign. Nevertheless, Seattle offered him some financial security last winter, taking the chance he’d break out after the extended layoff. He’s done exactly that, and the team’s reward for rolling the dice on Munoz is another six seasons of affordable control over a 23 year old relief ace.

Jesse Winker, Andres Munoz Undergo Surgeries

By Anthony Franco | October 19, 2022 at 9:43pm CDT

The Mariners season came to an end last week, as Seattle’s first playoff berth in two decades was cut short in the Divisional Round. After sweeping the Blue Jays in the Wild Card round, the M’s were dealt a sweep by their division rivals in Houston.

With the year wrapped up, a couple key Mariners players are going under the knife. Corner outfielder Jesse Winker underwent a procedure on his left knee, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto informed reporters (including Jake García of KING 5 News). He’ll also undergo neck surgery at some point in the future. A cervical disc bulge in his neck sent Winker to the injured list just before the start of the playoffs, causing him to miss Seattle’s postseason run.

Meanwhile, reliever Andrés Muñoz will need to undergo surgery on his foot, Dipoto said (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Muñoz pitched through whatever discomfort had been bothering him and didn’t spend any time on the injured list this season. He was also called upon by skipper Scott Servais in all three games of the ALDS.

Dipoto didn’t provide many specifics about either player’s surgeries, although there’s no indication either is expected to be hampered by next Spring Training. Winker figures to get an opportunity to again cement himself as the organization’s primary left fielder. Acquired from the Reds as part of a deal that saw the M’s assume the remainder of Eugenio Suárez’s contract, Winker had a tough debut season in the Pacific Northwest.

He hit .219/.344/.344 through 547 plate appearances. An excellent 15.4% walk rate was enough to prop up slightly above-average offensive production overall, but it was markedly below his .292/.392/.552 combined line from 2020-21. Paired with subpar defensive marks in left field, Winker rated right around replacement level. Seattle signed the 29-year-old to a two-year contract to avoid arbitration in June. He’ll make $8.25MM in 2023 and hit free agency at the end of the year.

Muñoz, on the other hand, should be a fixture on the roster for quite some time. The M’s signed the hard-throwing righty to a $7.5MM guarantee last offseason on the heels of two seasons mostly lost to Tommy John surgery. They tacked on an extra three seasons of potential club control, through 2028, a move that looks excellent after the 23-year-old returned with 65 innings of 2.49 ERA ball this season. Muñoz punched out an otherworldly 38.7% of opposing hitters on the back of a triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider and he now looks like one of the best late-game weapons in the sport.

In other injury updates, Dipoto announced that backstop Cal Raleigh was headed to see a specialist after tearing a ligament in his left thumb (via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times). It isn’t clear if he’ll eventually have to undergo surgery. Star center fielder Julio Rodríguez played through a small finger fracture at the end of the year. Neither seems to be in danger of missing any time at the start of next season.

Mariners Extend Andres Munoz

By Anthony Franco | December 1, 2021 at 10:44am CDT

TODAY: The Mariners officially announced Munoz’s extension.

NOVEMBER 30: The Mariners are finalizing agreement on a four-year extension with reliever Andrés Muñoz that guarantees at least $7.5MM, report Daniel Kramer and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (Twitter link). The deal contains three club options, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on Twitter).

Muñoz, a client of Hector Gomez, had been controllable via arbitration through 2025. The deal buys out his final pre-arb season in 2022, as well as all three arb years. The Mariners extend their window of control by three seasons via the club options.

It’s a fascinating agreement, as Muñoz has made exactly one appearance in a Seattle uniform. He recorded two outs during the M’s season finale against the Angels, his first big league work since his time with the Padres in 2019. Those two seasons mark the entirety of Muñoz’s big league career, as he has just 23 2/3 innings of 3.80 ERA ball under his belt at the highest level.

That limited track record is on account of both youth and injury. The Mexico native is still just 22 years old (23 in January), having reached the big leagues at age-20. He blew out his elbow in Spring Training with San Diego in 2020, requiring a Tommy John procedure. While he was rehabbing, Seattle acquired him as part of the seven-player Austin Nola deal. He spent the next year recovering under the eyes of Mariners’ medical personnel before returning to health in time for the season’s final game.

That lack of track record makes Muñoz a rather atypical extension candidate, but it’s also easy to understand why the Seattle front office jumped at the opportunity to lock in some eminently affordable rates over the coming seasons. Muñoz possesses electric stuff, including one of the game’s hardest fastballs. He averaged triple digits on the pitch during his 2019 rookie campaign. Upon his return from injury, that average heater had “dipped” to 99.6 MPH. Were Muñoz to emerge as a potential closer or even simply a high-leverage relief arm, he’d stand to earn far greater than a cumulative $7.5MM through arbitration. And that’s before considering the most appealing part of the deal from a team perspective — the opportunity to extend their window of control an additional three seasons.

From Muñoz’s perspective, the deal affords him the opportunity for up-front financial security. It’s possible he’ll wind up underpaid, if he lives up to his immense upside. Yet it’s difficult to fault a player his age for locking in this kind of money, particularly given that he’s yet to establish himself within a big league bullpen. Even independent of injury concerns, Muñoz comes with questions about his strike-throwing ability. He routinely walked upwards of 11% of opponents in the minors until 2019, and there’s a chance he never develops adequate command to match his power arsenal.

While the team can shoulder that kind of risk with relatively minor cost, Muñoz struggling early in his career could have had a significant impact on his earnings. He’ll forfeit a fair bit of ceiling in order to avoid that downside. All told, it’s a fascinating gambit for Seattle — one that, while unconventional, has the opportunity to pay off handsomely if Muñoz emerges as a late-game weapon.

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