Astros common supervisor Dana Brown has been open about his need so as to add some left-handed hitting to Houston’s predominantly righty-swinging lineup, and it isn’t any shock that the membership reportedly has some curiosity in a participant who could also be one of many deadline’s most intriguing rental bats. USA At present’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Astros have “eyes on Orioles heart fielder Cedric Mullins,” however didn’t elaborate as as to if or not Houston is simply contemplating Mullins at this level, or if any exploratory talks have taken place between the Astros and Orioles entrance places of work.
The 30-year-old Mullins is hitting .213/.295/.413 with 12 homers over 272 plate appearances this season, translating to an nearly precisely common 101 wRC+. A lot of his success got here within the first 4 weeks, as Mullins had an impressive .983 OPS over his first 111 plate appearances of 2025, however he then sputtered to a .161/.197/.329 slash line (for a .526 OPS) in his subsequent 158 journeys to the plate. He additionally had a minimal stint on the 10-day IL as a consequence of a hamstring pressure proper on the finish of Could and into the beginning of June, however Mullins’ fortunes didn’t enhance after returning to motion.
Aside from his respectable whiff and stroll charges, Mullins’ Statcast numbers are in any other case a sea of blue, chatting with his struggles over the past two months. His 25.7% strikeout price is especially troublesome, as it’s simply the very best of his eight MLB seasons. Mullins’ 55.4% fly ball price can also be a profession excessive and his .202 Remoted Energy quantity is the second-highest of his profession, so whereas his obvious change in strategy to hunt out extra energy is protecting his wRC+ afloat, it’s hampering his total productiveness on the plate.
With a modest profession 107 wRC+ coming into 2025, Mullins’ worth has solely been partially tied to his bat. He stole 115 bases in 143 makes an attempt in 2021-24, although Mullins is simply 8-for-10 thus far in 2025. Public defensive metrics have usually been combined on his heart subject glovework, and this season has had one of many greatest splits of opinion but — the Outs Above Aveerage metrics places Mullins at +1 for his 550 1/3 innings in heart, whereas Defensive Runs Saved has him at a dismal -15.
Since Jake Meyers is among the sport’s higher defensive heart fielders, the Astros nearly actually wouldn’t be utilizing Mullins up the center anyway. Rookie Cam Smith has made a really stable accounting for himself in his first MLB season, so left subject could be the likeliest touchdown spot if Mullins did certainly find yourself in Houston. The chain response right here would most likely ship Jose Altuve again to his outdated second base spot on a full-time foundation, as Altuve’s glove hasn’t adjusted nicely to the transfer to left subject this season.
About half of Mullins’ $8.725MM wage for the season has already been paid out, and he’d have about $2.8MM remaining if dealt immediately on the July 31 deadline day. It’s an open secret that Houston is attempting to remain underneath the $241MM luxurious tax threshold, so including Mullins’ comparatively modest wage would nonetheless be a match even throughout the workforce’s comparatively slender monetary window. RosterResource tasks the Astros’ present tax quantity at round $235.5MM, which provides the membership some (however not a lot) house for deadline additions.
Mullins’ low wage will possible get him consideration from a number of groups heading into the deadline, even regardless of his unimpressive numbers over the past two months. A number of golf equipment might be his previous monitor document somewhat than his most quick outcomes, and the “change of surroundings” issue may additionally come into play.
It stands to purpose that the Astros could wait till later into July to drag the set off on any large offers, because the workforce would possibly need extra readability on the standing of Yordan Alvarez and different injured gamers earlier than deciding on any lineup upgrades. Alvarez has missed nearly two months as a consequence of a hand harm that was ultimately identified as a fracture, however supervisor Joe Espada informed reporters (together with The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Alvarez will probably be dealing with stay pitching on the Astros’ minor league facility this week. Outfielder Chas McCormick will even be part of Alvarez within the project, as McCormick has missed the final month recovering from an indirect pressure.
The Orioles’ win over the Rays immediately boosted their document to 36-47, and Baltimore has now gone 21-19 since Tony Mansolino took over from Brandon Hyde as supervisor. GM Mike Elias took a candid evaluation of his membership’s scenario in feedback with reporters yesterday, and mentioned that the Orioles are getting ready in the intervening time to be each consumers and sellers, and a clearer determination will probably be made as July develops.
This might imply that Mullins and different impending free brokers will probably be pure commerce candidates within the lead-up to July 31. Even when the O’s do handle to claw their manner again into the pennant race, Mullins would possibly nonetheless get moved with a purpose to handle one other roster want, akin to how Baltimore dealt Austin Hays (additionally in his final yr of workforce management) to the Phillies previous to final yr’s deadline. Mullins’ struggles haven’t executed a lot to assist his commerce worth, after all, nor his probabilities of touchdown a stable multi-year contract as a free agent this winter.
