Mariners’ Andres Munoz, Bryan Woo and Julio Rodriguez selected to All-Star team
SEATTLE – Cal Raleigh will have familiar company at the MLB All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
Julio Rodríguez, Bryan Woo and Andrés Muñoz have been selected as American League reserves for the MLB All-Star Game on July 15 at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
The four selections are the most for the Mariners since 2018, when Mitch Haniger, Nelson Cruz, Edwin Diaz and Jean Segura made the AL team.
Raleigh, the major-league home run leader in the midst of a historic season, was named the AL starting catcher on Wednesday. Raleigh will also participate in the Home Run Derby for the first time on July 14, with his dad and little brother set to help him.
The rest of the AL and NL rosters were announced Sunday afternoon. Mariners manager Dan Wilson was able to break the news to Rodríguez, Woo and Muñoz on Sunday morning, before the M’s series finale against the Pirates.
Rodríguez, 24, is an All-Star for the third time in his first four major-league seasons. He has had his usual up-and-down first half at the plate, hitting .247 with 11 homers, 43 RBIs and a .694 OPS in 398 plate appearance.
And because of that, some might find his All-Star selection a bit surprising, but Rodríguez does rank as one of the best defensive center fielders in MLB and his Baseball Reference WAR of 3.4 ranks fourth among AL outfielders.
It’s the first All-Star selection for the 25-year-old Woo, who threw six shutout innings on Friday night against the Pirates to lower his ERA to 2.77. He ranks among the AL leaders in most pitching categories.
It’s the second selection for Muñoz, the Mariners’ closer who recorded his 20th and 21st saves in 1-0 wins on Saturday and Sunday. He ranks No. 1 among AL relievers with a 1.06 ERA.
“I’m just really excited to go again, to pitch and to represent my team,” Muñoz said Sunday morning. ” … I am happy for them, too. Especially for Woo. He deserves it. Everybody deserves it, obviously. But especially for him, because he gets to be there for the first time, and I’m happy for him. It’s an awesome experience and we just have to enjoy this.”
Muñoz is just the second Mariners relief pitcher to earn multiple All-Star selections. Kazuhiro Sasaki, in 2001 and ’02, was the first.
Muñoz did not pitch in the 2024 All-Star Game in Texas. He hopes for the chance to do so next week.
And, yes, he and his wife, Wendy, plan to bring their now-famous cat, Matilda, with them to Atlanta.
“Of course she’s going. She’s going with me everywhere,” he said with a smile.
Muñoz is planning to fly in his family from Los Mochis, Mexico, to Atlanta for the All-Star Game, too. Last year, his two older bothers, Miguel and Helmer, drove some 1,400 miles and 27 hours in a Kia sedan to see their little brother at the game in Texas.
The chance to represent Mexico, Muñoz said, is particularly special in the All-Star game.
“I’m really proud of being Mexican … and it makes me very excited that Mexico’s name is in the All-Star Game,” he said.