Andrés Muñoz is making adjustments to his pitching. He’s looking to improve his performance on the mound.
Muñoz Adds Changeup to Arsenal
Muñoz is starting to use his changeup more. He hopes this will lead to better results. Four whiffs and a 3.9 percent usage rate may not seem like much, but they could be huge in the long run for Andrés Muñoz.
Muñoz has had an up-and-down start to the season. He is 9-for-12 on save opportunities. He has also been tagged with three losses, matching his entire 2025 total.
He has a 1.69 ERA since April 24. Muñoz feels he is getting better each time he pitches.
A key factor for Muñoz could be his changeup. It has seen more action in the past month. The Mariners saw his kick-change in Spring Training in 2025, noting its high velocity and vertical drop.
Muñoz was upfront about the pitch being in beta and not easy to throw. It disappeared from his arsenal in September, and he did not throw it in the postseason.
He said it was about the results he was getting. He was getting outs in the playoffs with his slider, fastball and sinker, so there was no point in using it. Now, he is getting more hard contact and needs to throw something else to keep the hitters off-balance.
Changeup’s Return and Initial Challenges
Muñoz did not throw his changeup in his first 10 outings this season. After his first blown save of the year on April 22, left-handed hitters were batting .313 against him. He needed another option.
Muñoz said he is not experimenting with the changeup. He has worked on it a lot and they think it is the right time to throw it.
It started with an 0-1 change to Nathan Church. The next day, he threw Church another one that went way outside. On April 29, Josh Bell took two for balls. It was still a work in progress.
Finding Success with the Changeup
Things began to turn around against the Astros. On May 11, Muñoz followed up a first-pitch sinker to Jose Altuve with a changeup over the heart of the plate. Altuve had no clue what to do with it and took it for a strike. It was the first strike Muñoz had recorded on a changeup in 36 appearances, dating back to last August.
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