Andrés Muñoz picked up his 26th save of the season on September 9 against the Texas Rangers — and with it, he officially cracked the all-time top 10 for saves in a single season by a Mexico-born pitcher. The record still belongs to Joakim Soria, who put up 43 in 2010. But with a few weeks left in the season, Muñoz isn’t done climbing.
The ranking that puts Muñoz among Mexico’s greatest closers
It’s a short list, and it isn’t easy to get on. The Mexican-born pitchers with the most saves in a single MLB season form a lineage that spans generations:
- Joakim Soria — 43 saves (2010, Kansas City Royals)
- Joakim Soria — 42 saves (2008, Kansas City Royals)
- Roberto Osuna — 39 saves (2017, Toronto Blue Jays)
- Andrés Muñoz — 38 saves (2025, Seattle Mariners) ⬅ 4th all-time
- Roberto Osuna — 38 saves (2019, Houston Astros)
- Roberto Osuna — 36 saves
- … Andrés Muñoz — 26 saves (2026) ⬅ 10th all-time
Muñoz already owns two spots on that list. His 2025 campaign — 38 saves, a 1.73 ERA, and an All-Star selection — sits fourth all-time. Now he’s adding a second entry for 2026, and there’s still room to move up before the year is over.
One detail worth pausing on: Soria is from Sinaloa. Osuna is from Sinaloa. Muñoz — born in Los Mochis — is from Sinaloa. Three of the four names that appear most often in that ranking come from the same Mexican state.
A season that looks rougher than it actually is
On the surface, 2026 looks like a step back. Muñoz’s ERA sits at 4.13 — a far cry from the 1.73 he posted in his All-Star 2025 season. But Statcast tells a different story.
His xERA — which measures the ERA he’d be expected to have based on the quality of contact he allows — is 3.17. That nearly one-run gap between 4.13 and 3.17 has an explanation: Muñoz is still dominating hitters at an elite level, but some balls have found holes at the wrong moments.
His whiff rate of 40.9% ranks in the 100th percentile of MLB — literally no pitcher gets more swings and misses. Opposing batters are hitting just .203 against him, and his xwOBA against (84th percentile) confirms the underlying talent is very much intact. The fastball averages 99.5 mph. The slider generates whiffs on 40.9% of swings. The one area that’s cost him this year is control — his walk rate of 9.2% sits in the 41st percentile — but manager Dan Wilson has kept the faith, and 26 saves is the answer on the field.
A week of milestones stacked on top of each other
Save No. 26 came just three days after another milestone. On September 6, against the Athletics, Muñoz recorded his 102nd save as a Mariner, passing J.J. Putz (101) to become the third-most prolific closer in Seattle franchise history. Only Edwin Díaz (109) and Kazuhiro Sasaki (129) are ahead of him.
A couple months earlier, in August, he had already crossed the 100 career saves threshold with Seattle — becoming just the third Mexican-born pitcher to reach that mark in the majors, joining Roberto Osuna (155) and Joakim Soria.
The 2026 season won’t go down as the cleanest of his career. But it will go down in the record books. And at 27 years old, with club options running through 2028, this is still just the beginning of the file.
The numbers behind the pitcher
Here’s where Muñoz stands through the 2026 season, per Statcast:
- 55 games, 52.1 innings pitched
- ERA: 4.13 · WHIP: 1.14
- 83 strikeouts, 20 walks (38.2% strikeout rate)
- 26 saves
- xERA: 3.17
- Fastball average velocity: 99.5 mph, 2,315 rpm spin rate
- Whiff rate: 40.9%
- Opponent batting average: .203
- Average exit velocity allowed: 89 mph
- Barrel rate allowed: 8.8%
How he stacks up league-wide:
- xERA: 84th percentile
- Strikeout rate (K%): 99th percentile (elite)
- Whiff rate: 100th percentile (elite)
- Fastball velocity: 98th percentile (elite)
- xwOBA against: 84th percentile
The ERA says one thing. The radar and the record books say another. And in the long run, it’s the numbers — not the narrative — that define a great one.
