Astros basic 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 Right this moment’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Astros have “eyes on Orioles middle 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 excellent .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 on account of a hamstring pressure proper on the finish of Might and into the beginning of June, however Mullins’ fortunes didn’t enhance after returning to motion.
Other than his respectable whiff and stroll charges, Mullins’ Statcast numbers are in any other case a sea of blue, talking to 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 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 preserving 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 blended on his middle discipline glovework, and this season has had one of many largest splits of opinion but — the Outs Above Aveerage metrics places Mullins at +1 for his 550 1/3 innings in middle, whereas Defensive Runs Saved has him at a dismal -15.
Since Jake Meyers is among the recreation’s higher defensive middle fielders, the Astros nearly actually wouldn’t be utilizing Mullins up the center anyway. Rookie Cam Smith has made a really strong accounting for himself in his first MLB season, so left discipline can 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 previous second base spot on a full-time foundation, as Altuve’s glove hasn’t adjusted effectively to the transfer to left discipline 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 instantly on the July 31 deadline day. It’s an open secret that Houston is making an attempt to remain below the $241MM luxurious tax threshold, so including Mullins’ comparatively modest wage would nonetheless be a match even throughout the staff’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) area for deadline additions.
Mullins’ low wage will probably 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 taking a look at his previous monitor file moderately than his most speedy outcomes, and the “change of surroundings” issue may additionally come into play.
It stands to cause that the Astros might wait till later into July to drag the set off on any massive offers, because the staff may 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 on account of a hand damage that was finally recognized as a fracture, however supervisor Joe Espada informed reporters (together with The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Alvarez might be dealing with stay pitching on the Astros’ minor league facility this week. Outfielder Chas McCormick may also be part of Alvarez within the task, as McCormick has missed the final month recovering from an indirect pressure.
The Orioles’ win over the Rays right this moment boosted their file 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 state of affairs in feedback with reporters yesterday, and mentioned that the Orioles are making ready in the mean time to be each consumers and sellers, and a clearer choice might be made as July develops.
This might imply that Mullins and different impending free brokers might 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 may nonetheless get moved with a purpose to tackle one other roster want, akin to how Baltimore dealt Austin Hays (additionally in his final 12 months of staff management) to the Phillies previous to final 12 months’s deadline. Mullins’ struggles haven’t executed a lot to assist his commerce worth, in fact, nor his possibilities of touchdown a strong multi-year contract as a free agent this winter.
