When Cedric Mullins suffered his right groin strain in late May, manager Brandon Hyde said he was concerned about how long his star center fielder would be gone.
After Mullins was reinstated off the injured list Saturday, the fifth-year skipper said the 20 missed games were “by far the best-case scenario.”
“It’s a good feeling,” Hyde said of writing Mullins’ name atop Baltimore’s lineup for its game against the visiting Seattle Mariners on Saturday afternoon. “I know he’s excited to be back in there, and everybody’s really excited he’s back. We missed him while he was gone and happy to have him back.”
Mullins’ return came amid a flurry of roster moves Saturday. Baltimore also recalled left-hander Bruce Zimmermann from Triple-A for long relief out of the bullpen and optioned right-hander Logan Gillaspie and corner infielder/outfielder Josh Lester to Norfolk. Gillaspie and Lester both pitched in the Orioles’ 13-1 loss to Seattle on Friday — the former during his third Orioles stint as he continues his shuttle from Norfolk and Baltimore, and the latter as a position player tossing 62 mph pitches in a scoreless ninth inning.
Mullins said he feels healthy, noting his “body responded well” after his three games with Triple-A Norfolk during his minor league rehabilitation stint earlier this week. The 28-year-old hasn’t often been injured in his career, playing 156 games last year and 159 in his 2021 All-Star campaign.
“This is an injury I’ve never dealt with before, so there was really no idea about what the timeline would be like,” Mullins said. “The body was responding really well down in Florida and was able to progress every single day and push the leg a little bit to the point where it feels really good.”
Mullins and fellow rehabbing Orioles regular Ryan Mountcastle were with Norfolk on Wednesday as the Tides clinched the International League first-half title, guaranteeing a spot in the postseason. Mullins went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Norfolk’s 8-3 win.
“Great group of guys, bring a lot of energy to the field every single day,” Mullins said about the prospect-laden club. “It was kind of funny for me being there when they clinched the playoff spot, getting the beer dunked on me. But I was able to contribute that game, which was pretty cool. They got a good thing going.
“Team’s really strong. They’ve got a lot of good things going for ‘em. Obviously, my short stint there, they were able to show me a lot. I think just the way they click in the clubhouse kind of leads to the success they’ve had.”
Mullins suffered the right groin strain May 29 against the Cleveland Guardians while running down the first base line. When the Orioles placed him on the 10-day IL a day later, Hyde said the measure of a good team is being able to “deal with some adversity and have other guys step up.”
Baltimore more than stayed afloat without Mullins, finishing 11-9, continuing its streak of avoiding series sweeps and going 3-2 against American League East foes.
“Obviously there was a lot of concern when we lost [Mullins],” Hyde said. “Hopefully, we were going to respond the way we did. I think that we could have played better. There’s games in there that we didn’t play our best baseball, but to lose one of your main players and to stay above .500 and to stay right in the thick of it, I think that was really important, and we did that.”
The main way the Orioles were able to tread water without Mullins was the signing of Aaron Hicks. After being cut by the Yankees, Hicks has been one of Baltimore’s best hitters with a .963 OPS — more than 400 points better than his OPS with New York. Ryan O’Hearn, another castoff now with the Orioles, became a near-everyday player with Mullins and Mountcastle on the shelf. In 58 plate appearances since May 31, O’Hearn is slashing .382/.414/.691 — good for a 1.105 OPS. Meanwhile, the starting rotation allowed three or fewer earned runs in all but two of the 20 games without Mullins.
“Some of the guys kind of struggled immediately after I left but things started to really pick up,” Mullins said. “I know Hicks has been playing really well, keeping the team vibes alive and [Hays], of course, doing his thing and O’Hearn coming up big in some big moments over that stretch.”
Mullins — who was batting .263/.356/.479 with eight home runs, 39 RBIs and a .835 OPS at the time of his injury — was originally set to start in center field Saturday, but the Orioles altered their lineup and moved him to designated hitter in the wet conditions at Camden Yards. The original outfield configuration had Austin Hays in left field, Mullins in center and Hicks in right, with Anthony Santander at DH. Hicks has experience in all three outfield spots, but he hasn’t played right field since 2017.
“Feel really good with those three outfielders we have out there right now,” Hyde said before the lineup change. “We’re just so much more athletic this year. This team is a really athletic team, and [Hicks has] played really well for us defensively.”
Around the horn
- Hyde said the goal for Mountcastle during his rehabilitation stint is to get healthy as he recovers from vertigo and “get going offensively,” as he landed on the IL amid a slump. “I think the most important thing is that he feels good and that he responds the next day feeling well, and so far, so good there the last few days, so that’s all positive,” Hyde said. “I think taking good at-bats, and maybe not the result of the at-bat, but taking good at-bats is going to be important and hopefully he does that here coming up.”
- The Orioles listed their starting pitchers for their series finale against the Mariners and the three-game set against the red-hot Cincinnati Reds. Kyle Bradish will start on turn Sunday, following Dean Kremer on Saturday. Cole Irvin, whose start Friday was skipped as he pitched in relief Wednesday, will start Monday, bumping Tyler Wells to Tuesday. Kyle Gibson, who delivered his worst start of the season Friday, will take the mound Wednesday.
- Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Hudson Haskin was placed on the injured list Saturday with left hamstring tightness. The IL stint is the second this season for Haskin, who missed a month after suffering a left hamstring strain in mid-April. The 24-year-old is ranked as the No. 25 prospect in Baltimore’s minor league system by Baseball America.
- Pitching prospect Garrett Stallings was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A on Saturday after posting a 4.73 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings with the Bowie Baysox. The Orioles acquired Stallings, a fifth-round draft pick in 2019, from the Los Angeles Angels as part of the José Iglesias trade in December 2020.
- Right-hander Mychal Givens (right shoulder inflammation) is not pitching Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk as originally scheduled. Givens, who has spent most of the season on the injured list, is instead returning to Baltimore to be evaluated, the team announced.
- Orioles infield prospect Connor Norby was removed from Triple-A Norfolk’s game Saturday night because he fouled a ball off his left shin. Norby, the club’s No. 11 prospect according to Baseball America, entered Saturday batting .284/.335/.446 with a .782 OPS for the Tides.
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Source: Berkshire mont