Andrés Muñoz’s $9 million option looks like the easy part of Seattle’s bullpen decision. The harder question is what the Mariners do around him.
Muñoz was one of the most dependable arms in the organization from 2022 through 2025, piling up a 2.29 ERA and a 2.61 FIP over 235.2 innings after arriving in Seattle from San Diego. Among pitchers with at least 230 innings in that span, only Emmanuel Clase (1.99) and Jason Adam (2.07) did a better job of keeping runs off the board. Even with the pressure that comes with high-leverage work, he handled the role like a stopper.
Then came 2026, and it looked nothing like the rest of his Seattle run. A rough start snowballed into a season that never quite found its footing, including the outing against the Padres in which he allowed five earned runs in just 0.2 innings.
In June, Muñoz said he had lost the feel for his slider, the pitch that has long been the centerpiece of his arsenal. Even with strong chase, whiff and strikeout numbers, the loud contact he allowed dragged his ERA to 4.24 across 57.1 innings.
Because last season appears to be the outlier, the Mariners will more than likely exercise that $9 million club option and bring him back for 2026. The real debate is whether they should treat last year as a one-off or as a warning sign worth addressing with another leverage arm.
If Seattle does want insurance, there are paths to get it. The free-agent class offers some options, even if it isn’t loaded.
Jason Adam is coming off an excellent stretch with the Padres after missing much of the year following quad surgery. Adrián Morejón could give the Mariners a better left-handed option than Jose A.
Ferrer. David Bednar also got back on track and finished with 35 saves for the Yankees.
A trade could be in play too. Trevor Megill, who may be the most underrated closer in baseball, would be a tempting target if Seattle decides to spend prospect capital instead of money. The Rays also have controllable bullpen pieces such as Kevin Killy and Bryan Baker, and the two teams have already done plenty of business in recent years.
Still, the case for chasing another reliever depends entirely on how worried the Mariners are about Muñoz repeating this kind of year. On paper, there are plenty of signs that 2026 was more stumble than trend.
Opponents hit .316 on balls in play against him, his FIP was 3.34, and his SIERA came in at 2.41, which ranked sixth in MLB and sat right alongside elite arms like Tanner Scott and Louis Varland. He also posted a 50.8% ground-ball rate, another marker that points toward better results than the ERA showed.
And Seattle has bigger issues to solve anyway. The offense was the clearer problem last year, especially on the right-handed hitting side, and that has to be the priority if the club is working with limited payroll space. A full-blown bullpen arms race would be nice, but probably not the wisest place to pour resources when the roster spots and budget are both tight.
The front office does want to reinforce the back end of the bullpen, though that concern appears tied more to Matt Brash’s injury questions and the uncertainty around Muñoz’s backups than Muñoz himself. Relief pitching is volatile, and strange seasons happen. Right now, Seattle does not seem ready to panic about its closer - but it also doesn’t sound like the club is completely ignoring the possibility that it may need a little extra cover.
In Other News...
Mariners Fans Will Have Mixed Feelings About Mitch Garvers Next Step
Mitch Garvers next move is one many Mariners fans could have seen coming, even if it still lands with a little bit of a sting. After a 10-year big league career that included stops in Minnesota and Texas before his most recent seasons in Seattle, the veteran catcher announced he is retiring from Major League Baseball and turning his attention to family and golf.
Garvers time in Seattle was part of the late-career stretch that gave the Mariners a steady, experienced presence behind the plate, and his departure closes the book on a career that spanned three organizations and a decade in the game. For Mariners fans, it is one of those endings that brings both appreciation and a touch of what-could-have-been, especially when a familiar name from recent seasons decides to step away on his own terms. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Fans Just Got A Brutal Reminder About That Offseason Trade
Seattles February three-team trade looked like the kind of move that could reshape the roster in a hurry, with Ben Williamson sent to Tampa Bay and Brendan Donovan coming back to the Mariners. At the time, the deal was framed around adding a useful piece to a club that expected to contend, while parting with a player who still needed to prove himself at the major league level.
Instead, the trade has become a sharp reminder of how quickly these things can turn. Williamson gave the Rays defensive value as they surged to the American League pennant, while Seattle watched the 2026 season end without a playoff berth. Donovans side of the equation never really got going, either, with injuries interrupting his availability and leaving the Mariners with far less than they had hoped when they made the deal. [Read more 🡒]
Why Mariners Fans Actually Have A Rooting Interest In This World Series
The World Series getting underway in Milwaukee carries a little extra intrigue for Mariners fans, even with the matchup coming between the Brewers and Rays. There are Seattle threads all over it, from Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen to Brewers first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and second baseman Brice Turang, giving the Fall Classic a local flavor that goes beyond the usual scoreboard-watching.
There is also a franchise connection that Seattle fans know well, since Milwaukees club once called Seattle home as the Pilots. Add in Rays reliever Cam Booser, whose path traces back to Seattle, and this becomes one of those rare World Series in which Mariners followers can find familiar names on both sides while still keeping an eye on a bigger historical wrinkle tied to the city itself. [Read more 🡒]