Center fielder Cedric Mullins will likely rejoin the Orioles on Friday to begin their trip out west, manager Brandon Hyde said before Wednesday’s game.
Mullins is expected to play his final minor league rehabilitation assignment game Wednesday night for Double-A Bowie and be activated off the 10-day injured list Friday before Baltimore’s opening game in Seattle against the Mariners.
Hyde said he will “probably” manage Mullins’ workload more closely considering he will be returning from his second IL stint with a right groin strain. The 28-year-old was also placed on the IL in late May and missed most of June before reinjuring it in mid-July.
“We need him, so I’m going to try to keep him as healthy as I can,” Hyde said.
After Mullins first suffered the injury, it was considered a success when the team went 11-9 without him. They did even better during his current absence, going 14-8 and from two games below the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East to two games ahead of them entering Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Astros.
Mullins was the Orioles’ best hitter through the first two months of the season before his first injury. He struggled upon his return, but Hyde said Mullins just started to look like himself before the second injury. He hit his first homer and stole his first base July 14 before reinjuring his groin one day later.
For the season, Mullins is slashing .259/.347/.454 — good for an .801 OPS that ranks him fourth best on the team behind Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander. In his absence, Ryan McKenna, Colton Cowser and Austin Hays have mostly manned center field with Aaron Hicks also on the IL. In recent days, Hyde has put shortstop Jorge Mateo in center field for the speedster’s first starts in the outfield as an Oriole. He made a leaping grab at the wall and also missed one in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s loss.
Mullins isn’t the only outfielder who will soon rejoin the Orioles.
Hicks said Wednesday that he will begin his rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Norfolk, playing two games in Jacksonville, Florida, with the goal of being activated Monday for Baltimore’s first game in San Diego.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Hicks said. “I feel like I’m moving around pretty well. Yeah, ready to go.”
Hicks went on the IL about 10 days after Mullins when he suffered a left hamstring strain when making a diving catch against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 24. The veteran was signed in late May after flaming out with the New York Yankees to fill in for the injured Mullins. After hitting .188 with a .524 OPS with the Yankees before his release, Hicks batted .252 with a .784 OPS in 42 games with the Orioles — the best the 33-year-old had played since 2020.
Hicks said the eight to 10 plate appearances he’ll receive with Norfolk are plenty to get him ready.
“I mean, I went 14 days without it and did pretty good,” Hicks said with a laugh, referencing his two-week layoff between leaving the Yankees and joining the Orioles. " I’ll be ready to go.”
Entering Wednesday, the Orioles have gone 8-5 without Mullins or Hicks.
“They’ve been doing pretty well, scoring a lot of runs,” Hicks said. “This team is very talented, especially with all the young players.”
Ahead of John Means pitching in a game Thursday for the first time in 15 months, Hyde said he’s “looking forward to tracking him this next month” as the left-hander progresses through his rehab assignment.
Means, who is returning from Tommy John elbow reconstruction, is pitching for Bowie in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday.
Hyde said Means will “probably” require close to the full 30 days of the rehab assignment, which can’t extend past Sept. 8.
“We’re going to build him up like you would be in spring training,” Hyde said. “You just kind of never know what it’s going to look like. We’re excited about seeing what John has to offer. Getting him going pitching under the lights again, he’s earned it. He’s put in so much great work in, and we’re proud of him.”
It remains to be seen what role Means will have should he return to Baltimore in September. The first season back from Tommy John can be a challenging one, and the Orioles’ rotation appears full. He could also join the bullpen in a long relief role.
But if Means returns to form — an All-Star starting pitcher in 2019 and a pitcher capable of throwing a no-hitter, as he did in 2021 — Hyde said it would be a “massive” boost to the Orioles.
“Something close to that would be great,” Hyde said.
Baltimore didn’t make another trade for a reliever at last week’s deadline, but the bullpen arm the club added through waivers Monday was added to its 26-man roster Wednesday.
Reliever Jacob Webb was activated and right-hander Joey Krehbiel was optioned to Norfolk. Webb, who turns 30 next week, was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, as the Orioles made room for the right-hander by transferring reliever Austin Voth to the 60-day IL.
“I’m very happy,” Webb said of joining the Orioles. “I mean, going from a fourth-place team to a first-place team is obviously a pretty good scenario. Just trying to come in here and do what I do, try to help the team as best as I can.”
In 108 1/3 relief innings since 2019, Webb has a 2.91 ERA with 105 strikeouts. In 31 2/3 innings with the Angels this season, Webb posted a 3.98 ERA, struggling with command with 20 walks.
“I know he has really good stuff,” said Hyde, who added he hasn’t seen Webb pitch yet. “I think the walks have been a little bit of the issue, but hopefully he shows command with us with a good arm.”
Webb, who pitched for the World Series-winning Atlanta Braves in 2021, said the possibility of pitching in the postseason this season is “very exciting.”
“Anytime you get a chance to pitch in the postseason, it’s obviously what everyone in here is trying to accomplish,” Webb said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s going to be awesome.”
()