\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”thumbnail_url”:null,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Among American League relievers with at least 25 innings, Muñoz ranks fifth with a 1.45 ERA, is tied for eighth with 15 saves (including six with four-plus strikeouts, the best in MLB), 11th with a .501 OPS against and tied for 18th with 45 strikeouts.\n\n”I’m so proud of him,” Servais said. “From the time we first acquired him to his return from Tommy John surgery, to one of the most impressive things about him, his ability to overcome his fears of using the English language, it was really cool to see.”\n\nServais spoke of Muñoz’s adaptability on the mound, noting his build as a top major league reliever and the progress he’s made to get to where he is now.\n\n“He’s constantly learning, but he’s gifted. He’s got a great arm. He’s got a great slider. He’s got presence. He’s got great hair. He’s got everything else.””,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”“,”providerName”:”MLB”,”providerUrl”:null,”thumbnail_url”:”https://yatooblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Munoz-to-replace-Gilbert-on-All-Star-team-Its-a-dream.jpeg”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:425,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”It’s been a demanding season for Muñoz, who has been one of the MLB’s most-used relievers through the first two months while pitching through a lower back strain that forced him out of a June 4 outing at Oakland. He avoided the injured list but has pitched in just 12 of Seattle’s 33 games since then — partly because of fewer save opportunities as the offense struggled over the past three weeks.\n\nMuñoz’s path to becoming a shutdown reliever has been bumpy. He was acquired from San Diego in a larger trade in 2020 but was on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery while in the Padres’ system.\n\n”When you get traded and you’re hurt, it’s one of the worst feelings because you can’t do anything about it,” Muñoz said. “But to be able to handle that and do all the work that we’ve done to get through it … it’s really cool to see the results of all that hard work that we’ve put in.””,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Muñoz has also come a long way since the start of the season, when he walked the bases loaded on April 5 at Milwaukee and then issued a walk-off. Last year, when he became the Mariners’ full-time closer — along with Matt Brash — after the club traded Paul Sewald at the trade deadline, the ninth inning was certainly a challenge. But that apparently isn’t the case anymore.\n\nMuñoz was not on the AL’s initial roster, which was announced Sunday. The group of relievers who were selected included the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, the Yankees’ Clay Holmes, Oakland’s Mason Miller and the Rangers’ Kirby Yates.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”After Friday’s announcement, Muñoz will now sit alongside the league’s best as a peer — and he’s eager for the chance to catch up with some key players.\n\n”I’d like to talk to Aaron Judge a little bit. … (about) a lot of things, like what he’s thinking when I throw to him,” Muñoz said. “I know he’s not going to say much because we’re probably going to face it again, but yeah. I just ask him, I try to learn as much as I can out there.”\n\nWhatever he’s able to do, it’s clear Muñoz will enjoy every second of the experience.\n\n”A lot of people say the same thing, but it’s true. “It’s a dream come true,” Muñoz added before finally having a minute to himself to share the good news with his inner circle.”,”type”:”text”}),,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/news/andres-munoz-named-as-all-star-replacement”,”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary”:”SEATTLE — It took a few days longer than the Mariners had hoped or anticipated, but Andrés Muñoz is an All-Star.\nMajor League Baseball announced Friday that Seattle’s top reliever has been added to the American League roster for the Midsummer Classic, this coming Tuesday at the Globe Life”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:({“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”all-star-game”,”title”:”All-Star Game”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-136″,”title”:”Seattle Mariners”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:136″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-662253″,”title”:”Andrés Muñoz”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:662253″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”daniel-kramer”,”title”:”Daniel Kramer”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”adrian-garro”,”title”:”Adrian Garro”,”type”:”contributor”}),,”type”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/txjbrs4olfam6mymxatj”,”title”:”Andrés Muñoz named All-Star replacement”}},”Person:662253″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:662253},”Team:136″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:136}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”mlbglobal08,mlbcom08″,”linkInternalFilters”:”mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”:”Major League Baseball”,”lang”:”en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
00:34 UTC
SEATTLE — It took a few days longer than the Mariners had hoped or anticipated, but Andrés Muñoz is an All-Star.
Major League Baseball announced Friday that Seattle’s most gifted reliever has been added to the American League roster for the Midsummer Classic, which will be played this coming Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Muñoz joins starting pitcher Logan Gilbert as the Mariners’ lone representative. But Gilbert won’t pitch in the All-Star Game because he’s scheduled to start Sunday in Anaheim, leaving him with just one day of rest and unavailable. So, coincidentally, MLB made a one-for-one trade, with Muñoz replacing Gilbert on the American League roster.
Muñoz received the exciting news before Seattle’s game at Anaheim on Friday night – and it all happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to properly notify his family and friends when he spoke to the media.
Manager Scott Servais made the big reveal in the locker room Friday afternoon, but he did so without even mentioning Muñoz’s name…instead sending the message with a musical introduction.
“I was really nervous,” Muñoz said of his chances of making the All-Star team, “but I had a little glimpse of… maybe it can happen. And then when I heard that Mexican song… it was really good, really good to be a part of it.”
“(Servais) didn’t even say my name, they just put on the song and looked at me,” Muñoz recalls with a smile.
Among AL relievers with at least 25 innings, Muñoz ranks fifth with a 1.45 ERA, is tied for eighth with 15 saves (including six with four-plus outs, a best in MLB), 11th with a .501 OPS against and tied for 18th with 45 strikeouts.
“I’m so proud of him,” Servais said. “From the time we acquired him to his return after (Tommy John) surgery and probably one of the most impressive things, his ability to overcome his fears of using the English language, it was really cool to see.”
Servais spoke about Muñoz’s adaptability on the mound, noting his build as a top major league reliever and the progress he’s made to where he is now.
“He’s constantly learning, but he’s gifted. He’s got a great arm. He’s got great slide. He’s got presence. He’s got great hair. He’s got everything else.”
It’s been a demanding season for Muñoz, who was one of MLB’s most heavily used relievers through the first two months while continuing to pitch through a lower back injury that forced him off the field June 4 at Oakland. He avoided the injured list but has played in just 12 of Seattle’s 33 games since, partly because of fewer save opportunities due to the offense’s struggles over the past three weeks.
Muñoz’s path to becoming a top-tier reliever has been bumpy. He was acquired from San Diego in 2020 as part of a larger trade, but he was on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery while in the Padres’ system.
“When you get traded and you get hurt, it’s one of the worst feelings because you can’t do anything about it,” Muñoz said. “But to be able to handle that and do all the work that we’ve done to get through it … it’s really cool to see the results of all that hard work that we’ve put in.”
Muñoz has also come a long way since the season opener, when he walked the bases loaded on April 5 in Milwaukee and then gave up a walk to close it out. Last year, when he became the Mariners’ full-time closer — along with Matt Brash — after the club traded Paul Sewald at the trade deadline, the ninth inning was certainly a challenge. But that apparently isn’t the case anymore.
Muñoz was not on the initial American League roster, released Sunday. The selected group of relievers included Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians, Clay Holmes of the Yankees, Mason Miller of Oakland and Kirby Yates of the Rangers.
Following Friday’s announcement, Muñoz will now sit alongside the league’s best as a peer — and he’s looking forward to the opportunity to catch up with some key players.
“I’d like to talk to Aaron Judge a little bit. … (about) a lot of things, like what he’s thinking when I throw to him,” Muñoz said. “I know he’s not going to say much because we’re probably going to play them again, but yeah. I just ask him, I try to learn as much as I can out there.”
Whatever he’s able to do, it’s clear that Muñoz will enjoy every second of the experience.
“A lot of people say the same thing, but it’s true. It’s a dream come true,” Muñoz added before finally taking a minute to share the good news with those around him.