JACKSONVILLE – Former Jacksonville Jumbo Shirmp right-handed pitcher Roddery Muñoz made his MLB debut Saturday for the Miami Marlins against the Chicago Cubs in game two of the doubleheader. Muñoz is the 997th player to don both a Jacksonville uniform and play in the major leagues, including the 160th former Jumbo Shrimp. The history of minor league baseball in Jacksonville dates back to 1904.
Muñoz started the finale of the doubleheader at Wrigley Field. The right hander hurled five innings of two-run ball, surrendering two hits and striking out seven Cubs hitters.
The Marlins received Muñoz on December 20, 2023 in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 24-year-old had began the season with Jacksonville, fanning seven hitters over 10.2 innings across three appearances.
Originally signed to a minor league contract by the Atlanta Braves on June 11, 2018 out of Santo Domingo, D.R., Muñoz spent time with the Dominican Summer League Braves in July of that same year. He was promoted to Gulf Coast League Braves in 2020. In 2021, the right-hander spent time with the Augusta GreenJackets for his first full season.
In 2022, Muñoz was assigned to High-A Rome Braves, where he made 19 starts while tallying 105 strikeouts with a 4.03 ERA. He earned a promotion late in the season to Double-A Mississippi. Last season, Muñoz pitched with Triple-A Gwinnett, where he made 16 relief appearances before being claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals organization. In the Nationals’ system with Triple-A Rochester, Muñoz struck out 41 batters in 38.2 innings. On December 1, 2023 he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates before being dealt to Miami in late December.
Muñoz is the second Jumbo Shrimp alumnus this season to make his major league debut (Jhonny Pereda, April 18). Throughout the 2023 season, there were seven former Jumbo Shrimp players that debuted in the show.