José A.

Ferrer

There was understandably cause for corner when Muñoz left Sunday’s contest against the Nationals with lower back tightness. The 27-year-old closer, who has struggled this season overall, appears to be feeling better. He’ll presumably be available to handle any save chances during a three-game series against the Orioles at T-Mobile Park.

Muñoz was brought in to get some work despite the Mariners trailing by seven runs, and he faced just two batters before exiting with a trainer. The Mariners are calling the 27-year-old day-to-day, but it’s obviously plausible that the team will need to make a roster move if Muñoz is unavailable for the coming few days. Jose Ferrer, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo would likely see the save chances for Seattle.

The 27-year-old right-hander was brought in to start the eighth inning just to get some work in. He wound up facing just two batters, walking Jorbit Vivas and giving up an RBI double to Jacob Young before being visited by the training staff and ultimately removed. It’s unclear exactly what occurred here, but the Mariners should have an update on Muñoz’s status after the game concludes. With Matt Brash also shelved, either Jose Ferrer or Eduard Bazardo would be the next man up to see save chances if Muñoz is forced to miss any time.

Ferrer got the call to protect a two-run lead in the final frame with Andrés Muñoz unavailable after pitching each of the previous two days. The 26-year-old southpaw served up a leadoff homer to veteran lefty-masher Randal Grichuk, but managed to settle down afterwards, striking out Munetaka Murakami, Derek Hill and Colson Montgomery to end it. Simply put, Ferrer has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season with a sparkling 1.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 22/3 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He’ll continue to vulture the occasional save when Muñoz is unavailable.

He’ll be back in the late-game fold for the Mariners and should be activated in leagues that count holds. Ferrer also holds some deep-league appeal as a contingency plan for Andrés Muñoz when Muñoz needs a breather.

Ferrer has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season with a microscopic 1.80 ERA and 16/3 K/BB ratio across 20 innings. The 26-year-old southpaw has emerged as a viable closing option when Andrés Muñoz is unavailable for workload reasons, which gives him some fantasy appeal in deeper formats.

The Mariners certainly weren’t going to use Andrés Muñoz for a third straight day, but they were willing to do so with Ferrer. The lefty gave up a long fly to Matt Olson to start the outing, but it stayed in the park, and he then retired the Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón to end the game. He has a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings out of the pen.

With Andrés Muñoz unavailable, the Mariners turned to Ferrer for the save, and he was able to retire the side in order while throwing 8-of-11 pitches for strikes. He’s done a very nice job over his first month with Seattle as seen in a 1.93 ERA, but he isn’t likely to get many more save chances with Muñoz and Matt Brash on the roster.

The 25-year-old hurler finished the 2025 season as the Nationals’ closer. He compiled a 4.48 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 71/16 K/BB ratio across 76 1/3 innings while securing 11 saves for the Nationals. He’ll add another talented weapon to the M’s bullpen, but he won’t be anywhere near the top of the pecking order in saves, which saps most of his fantasy value.

Ferrer was summoned to close out the game in the top of the ninth with a two-run lead. He gave up one run on three hits but closed out the game with three strikeouts for his 11th save of the season to go with a 4.48 ERA over 76 1/3 innings.