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Cedric Mullins

The Orioles Need More Out Of Center Field

By Anthony Franco | June 12, 2024 at 1:25pm CDT

The Orioles have been one of the sport's best teams. They've won two-thirds of their games and trail only the Phillies and Yankees in overall record. A lot has gone right -- from an MVP-caliber performance out of Gunnar Henderson to a Jordan Westburg breakout and quietly excellent performances from Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O'Hearn (the latter of whom MLBTR's Steve Adams will spotlight later this week).

No team is perfect, though, and the O's go into deadline season with a couple questions. Their rotation depth has taken hits with the losses of John Means and Tyler Wells. The back end of the bullpen could be a bit shaky, especially if Danny Coulombe misses time with an elbow injury. Most surprisingly, the Orioles have had one of the least productive center field situations in the majors. Cedric Mullins was a top ten finisher in MVP voting a couple years back. He's now arguably the only question mark in one of the game's deepest lineups.

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Baltimore Orioles Front Office Originals Membership Cedric Mullins

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Orioles Notes: Mullins, Henderson, Bradish, Rotation

By Steve Adams | March 4, 2024 at 4:25pm CDT

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exited Monday’s Grapefruit League contest against the Twins with discomfort in his hamstring, the team announced. Mullins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second base on a grounder. He then walked off the field under his own power two pitches into the next at-bat. Enrique Bradfield Jr. replaced him on the bases.

Fortunately for O’s fans, it seems the situation is relatively minor. Manager Brandon Hyde called Mullins’ exit “precautionary” following the game (X link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). Concern is low enough that the team isn’t even planning on performing an MRI or any other imaging to determine if there’s a more serious issue at play. Mullins is considered day-to-day for now, according to Hyde.

The 29-year-old Mullins has been a steady contributor on both sides of the ball for the Orioles over the past three seasons, although the 2023 campaign was his worst and, perhaps not coincidentally, least healthy of the three. Mullins had a pair of IL stints last season due to right groin strains, finishing out the season with a .233/.305/.416 slash (99 wRC+), 15 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 116 games. He missed only nine total games the two seasons prior, batting a combined .274/.339/.460 with 46 big flies and 64 steals. If there’s any sort of setback, infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo and top outfield prospect Colton Cowser are on hand as options to see time in center field.

Mateo has traditionally been a shortstop, but the team has already suggested that the wealth of infield talent on the Baltimore roster will likely push Mateo into the outfield more frequently in 2024. The fleet-footed Mateo’s primary spot in recent years, shortstop, sounds as though it’ll be handled primarily by reigning AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson in 2024. While Henderson is capable of playing both shortstop and third base at a high level, the 22-year-old said yesterday that his playing time would be “leaning more toward shortstop” (X link via the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich).

Henderson has played shortstop, third base and (much more briefly) second base so far in the big leagues. He split his time between the two left-side infield positions nearly evenly in 2023, logging 594 innings at third base and 584 at shortstop. Defensive metrics touted his glovework at both spots, but he drew stronger marks at shortstop (particularly from Defensive Runs Saved, which pegged him at +10). Third base, then, will likely be left to a combination of Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias and prospect Coby Mayo, though Mateo could also see time there. Current No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday has been playing second base this spring, while each of Westburg and Urias can play basically anywhere in the infield. Mayo’s primary position is third base, though there’s some thought he could eventually move to first base or an outfield corner. Regardless, he’s not yet on the 40-man roster.

Of course, a substantial part of the focus in Orioles camp right now is on right-hander Kyle Bradish, who’s currently attempting a rest/rehab approach to mending a sprain in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Bradish had a platelet-rich plasma injection before the O’s even publicly announced the injury, and Weyrich writes that he’s been throwing pain-free from flat ground.

While general manager Mike Elias struck an optimistic tone, he also preached caution and declined to place a timeline on the right-hander’s potential return. Bradish himself noted that follow-up MRIs have shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament so far, Weyrich writes, though that doesn’t yet mean he’s dodged a long-term absence. Bradish has yet to throw off a mound and currently isn’t throwing at full intensity. The early results are perhaps cause for some cautious optimism, but there’s a ways to go in the process.

For the time being, it doesn’t seem as though Bradish’s injury will prompt the Orioles to make another notable acquisition. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com downplayed the possibility of the Orioles signing a big-name free agent, writing that the team appears satisfied with its depth at present. Baltimore picked up Julio Teheran on a minor league deal late last week and could give him a look early in the season, but Kubatko more specifically noted that he’d be “floored” to see the O’s pursue an opt-out-laden deal with a top free agent like Jordan Montgomery.

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Baltimore Orioles Cedric Mullins Gunnar Henderson Kyle Bradish

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AL East Notes: Story, Mullins, Green

By Darragh McDonald | July 21, 2023 at 2:24pm CDT

Red Sox infielder Trevor Story is beginning a rehab assignment today, with Ian Browne of MLB.com relaying the details. Story will play five innings at shortstop in Friday’s game before serving as the designated hitter on Saturday and returning to the shortstop position on Sunday.

The shortstop position in Boston has been in flux since it was reported in January that Story had undergone internal brace surgery on his right elbow. They’ve rotated various players through the position in his absence, including Enrique Hernández, Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes and others. The Red Sox have a collective .216/.272/.322 batting line from the position, which translates to a wRC+ of 59, placing them 27th out of the 30 clubs in the league.

Story is a career .268/.336/.513 hitter and would certainly be a boost if he could come back at that level, though it’s no guarantee that he will. He hit .251/.329/.471 in his final year in Colorado and then .238/.303/.434 last year. After missing all of this season so far, it remains to be seen what form he will be in when he gets back. The Sox are currently three games out of a playoff spot and even a diminished version of Story should be an upgrade over the production they’ve had from the shortstop position thus far.

Some more notes from the toughest division in the league…

  • The Orioles placed outfielder Cedric Mullins on the injured list earlier this week due to a groin strain, his second trip to the IL this year for that injury. Just the day prior, he had said he was hoping to avoid the IL, which made it fair to expect this stint would be minimal. That may not be the case, however, with Mullins providing more details to the media yesterday. He said that new symptoms emerged once his soreness went away, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner, with no timeline for his return right now. He said he’s hopeful of returning for the back end of the season, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball. That murkier timeline is surely an unpleasant development for the O’s, as Mullins continue to be an impact player when healthy. He’s hit .259/.347/.454 this year for a wRC+ of 123 and stolen 14 bases. His progress in the weeks to come will hopefully provide some more clarity but it doesn’t seem like an immediate return is likely.
  • Blue Jays reliever Chad Green is set to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Jays signed Green in the offseason to a convoluted deal, knowing that he wouldn’t be an option in the first half after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He’s now rehabbing at an interesting time of the season, with the trade deadline just over the horizon. The righty has 272 appearances under his belt with a 3.17 ERA,  32.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. All contending clubs are looking for relief help at this time of year but Green’s impending return gives the Jays a chance to have that bullpen boost come from within. They are currently 54-43 and tied with the Astros for the second Wild Card spot. Green’s return will also give the club a couple of months to evaluate his status before deciding on the layered option structure of his contract. They first have to decide on triggering a three-year, $27MM option with $1MM in bonuses. If they decline, Green can exercise a 2024 player option with a $6.25MM salary and $2MM in bonuses. If he declines that, the Jays can trigger a two-year, $21MM option with $1MM in bonuses.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Notes Toronto Blue Jays Cedric Mullins Chad Green Trevor Story

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Orioles Place Cedric Mullins On IL With Groin Strain

By Darragh McDonald | July 19, 2023 at 10:35am CDT

The Orioles announced that they have placed outfielder Cedric Mullins on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 16, due to a right adductor groin strain. Right-hander Logan Gillaspie was recalled in a corresponding move.

Mullins has been dealing with this groin situation for quite a while, as he was also on the injured list from May 30 to June 24, costing him almost a month of the season. He was able to return to the club in recent weeks but has missed the past few games as the issue cropped back up again.

It doesn’t appear as though Mullins is slated for an extended absence. As recently as yesterday, he said he was hoping to be back in the lineup this week and avoid the injured list, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. But it now seems the club will give him some time to rest up and hopefully get it over and done with. Since IL stints can be backdated by three days, as the O’s have done, he can potentially return in a week if all goes well.

Mullins has nine home runs on the year and is hitting .259/.347/.454 for a wRC+ of 122. He’s also stolen 14 bases and has provided strong center field defense. With him out of action in recent days, the center field duties have primarily gone to Aaron Hicks, who is in there again today. Though he struggled with the Yankees for years, he’s hit a strong .263/.366/.474 in 36 games since joining the Orioles.

The O’s are firmly in the playoff race, currently just one game back of the Rays in the American League East. They currently hold the top Wild Card spot in the AL and are 4.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays, who have the second slot. Playing without Mullins for the next little bit isn’t ideal but there’s nothing to indicate he’s slated for a lengthy time away from the club and perhaps Hicks can soften the blow by continuing his recent resurgence.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Cedric Mullins Logan Gillaspie

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AL East Notes: Rays, Mullins, Mountcastle, Romano

By Nick Deeds | July 16, 2023 at 8:33am CDT

While the Rays are typically known for making careful, calculated moves in order to maximize long-term success, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times discussed yesterday the possibility of Tampa making a splash in the trade market prior to the trade deadline on August 1 by pursuing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, on whom the Angels are expected to consider offers.

Such a move would be a major departure from the club’s typical model, though president of baseball operations Erik Neander and his front office have shown a willingness to be more aggressive in recent years. Trading promising right-hander Joe Ryan for Nelson Cruz ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, extending Wander Franco on an 11-year deal that offseason, and pursuing Freddie Freeman in free agency are all signs from the relatively recent past that the Rays could be willing to take bigger swings in their pursuit of a World Series championship, and there’s no acquisition that would move the needle more than Ohtani.

While the club certainly has the pieces necessary to swing a deal for Ohtani between a farm system that ranks 8th in the majors per Fangraphs and a deep group of position players at the big league level, Topkin cautions that the Rays are highly unlikely to enter a bidding war for Ohtani as the club wouldn’t be able to retain the superstar in free agency. Between that unwillingness to beat out other potential suitors like the Yankees and Dodgers for Ohtani and the considerable chance that the Angels don’t move him at all, as they’re currently sitting just one game under .500 and five games back of a Wild Card berth, Ohtani in a Rays uniform certainly seems unlikely.

More from around the AL East…

  • Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exited yesterday’s game with right quad tightness, as noted by MASN’s Roch Kubatko. Mullins is currently considered day-to-day, and the club will check in with him today to determine the severity of the injury. Manager Brandon Hyde expressed optimism following yesterday’s game, telling reporters (including Kubatko) that the club is “hoping we caught a break there.” Fortunately for the Orioles, they boast a deep group of position players that can help cover for Mullins in the event he misses time, though properly replacing a strong defensive center fielder with a 123 wRC+ is easier said than done.
  • Sticking with the Orioles, the club has been taking things slowly with first baseman Ryan Mountcastle as he returns from a month on the injured list due to vertigo. While Mountcastle has looked good in limited time since coming off the IL, with a single and a double in five trips to the plate, Kubatko notes that his ability to reclaim a full-time role has been further complicated by the emergence of Ryan O’Hearn as a legitimate starting option. In 156 plate appearances this season, O’Hearn has slashed an impressive .310/.359/.528 with a wRC+ of 143, albeit in a strictly platoon role. Though Mountcastle currently seems poised to see most of his starts come against southpaws, Hyde indicated that setup may not be permanent, telling reporters that he’s “sure” Mountcastle will get some starts against same-handed pitching and that “we’ll see how the second half goes.”
  • Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano exited the All-Star game last week due to lower back tightness and has since undergone an MRI, as relayed by SportsCentre’s Scott Mitchell. Manager John Schneider told reporters, including Mitchell, that the imaging came back clean and Romano is currently considered day-to-day. Romano has established himself as one of the league’s best closers over the past four seasons, pitching to a 2.21 ERA (190 ERA+) and a 3.01 FIP while racking up 87 saves. In the event the right-hander is unavailable, Erik Swanson and Yimi Garcia appear to be the most likely candidates to handle the ninth.
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Baltimore Orioles Notes Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Cedric Mullins Jordan Romano Ryan Mountcastle Ryan O'Hearn Shohei Ohtani

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Orioles Reinstate Cedric Mullins From 10-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | June 24, 2023 at 11:30am CDT

The Orioles have reinstated outfielder Cedric Mullins from the 10-day injured list.  Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was also called up from Triple-A, while righty Logan Gillaspie and utilityman Josh Lester were optioned to Triple-A in corresponding moves.

Mullins missed just short of four weeks recovering from a right groin strain suffered when he was trying to beat out a grounder to first base.  Fortunately, Mullins had a pretty straightforward recovery process that included three minor league rehab games, and he’ll now get back into action with an impressive 45-29 Orioles team.

The outfielder has been a big part of that success, hitting .263/.356/.479 with eight homers over 224 plate appearances this season.  A .319 xwOBA (well under his .362 wOBA) does hint at regression, especially since Mullins’ hard-contact rate is below average, but Mullins has traditionally outperformed his xwOBA over the last few seasons.  His 12.5% walk rate is also a career best, adding a new dimension to Mullins’ work at the plate.

Despite losing Mullins for four weeks and Ryan Mountcastle for the last two weeks, the Orioles have kept winning even without these two regulars in the lineup.  In replacing Mullins, the O’s signed veteran Aaron Hicks, who has experienced a resurgence since his arrival in Baltimore.  The Yankees released Hicks in late May to end his eight-season run in the Bronx, marked mostly in recent years by injuries and a severe lack of production.  However, Hicks has rebounded to the change of scenery, hitting .310/.412/.552 over his 68 PA in an Orioles uniform.

While Mullins isn’t in danger of being Wally Pipp’ed out of the center field job, Hicks’ production will certainly merit more playing time, giving the O’s a nice problem to have in figuring out how to juggle their several quality position players.  Hicks could take some at-bats away from Anthony Santander in right field and the DH spot is somewhat available, though the Orioles like to give Adley Rutschman plenty of DH time in order to keep him fresh and to keep his bat in the lineup.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Bruce Zimmermann Cedric Mullins Josh Lester Logan Gillaspie

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Orioles Sign Aaron Hicks, Place Cedric Mullins On IL

By Darragh McDonald | May 30, 2023 at 3:20pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Aaron Hicks to a major league contract and placed fellow outfielder Cedric Mullins on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. They already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and won’t require a corresponding move in that regard. JoezMcFly of Pinstripe Strong had reported on the signing of Hicks earlier today.

Hicks, 33, quickly finds a new landing spot after being released by the Yankees last week. That move was prompted by a tepid performance over the past two-plus seasons. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Hicks has hit .209/.315/.310 for a wRC+ of 83, indicating he’s been 17% below league average in that time. That includes an even worse .188/.263/.261 showing here in 2023.

Prior to that, however, he had been an all-around contributor. From 2017 to 2020, he hit a much stronger .247/.362/.457 for a wRC+ of 123. He combined that with 26 stolen bases and solid defense, much of that in center field. He was worth 8.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, over those three full seasons plus the shortened 2020 campaign.

In the midst of that strong run, the Yankees placed a bet on Hicks by signing him to a seven-year, $70MM extension going into 2019. While the first couple seasons of the deal were fairly smooth sailing, Hicks’ performance fell off, as mentioned. That caused the Yanks to cut bait, even though there’s still more than two years remaining on the contract. He’s making $10.5MM this year, with roughly $7MM left to be paid out, and a $9.5MM salary in each of the next two years. The Yanks will remain on the hook for almost all of that, as well as a $1MM buyout on the 2026 club option.

That will allow the Orioles to bring Hicks aboard and pay him only the prorated league minimum salary for any time he spends on the roster, with that amount being subtracted from what the Yankees pay. The O’s will be hoping that a change of scenery can help Hicks look more like the 2017-2020 version of himself as opposed to what he’s shown recently. It’s also possible that there have been reasons for his struggles. He only played 32 games in 2021 due to a wrist injury, then he tried to come back healthier and leaner in 2022. He spoke openly about how he felt that approach deprived him of his power, despite keeping him healthy enough to play 130 games last year. He only hit eight home runs on the year, compared to a career high of 27 in 2018. This year, he only had scattered playing time as the Yanks tried out various younger players in the outfield mix.

There will be essentially no financial risk to the O’s as they bring Hicks into the fold and see if he can move past those circumstances and perhaps find better results. Despite the low cost, there is still the risk that his poor results continue, but it seems they are willing to take that risk in order to try to deal with the absence of Mullins. It’s unclear exactly how long Mullins will be sidelined by this groin injury, but it will be at least 10 days. General manager Mike Elias tells reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that he’s hoping it will be measured in weeks and not months.

It will be a blow to the club for as long as he’s out, whatever the eventual length of his IL stint. He’s been a key member of the Baltimore lineup, going back to his 2021 breakout. Since the start of that season, he’s hit .273/.341/.463 for a wRC+ of 122 while also stealing 77 bases and providing quality defense in center. Even a bounceback from Hicks will still be a drop-off from that kind of excellent production.

Time will tell exactly how much playing time Hicks gets. As a switch-hitter, he could perhaps take the large side of a platoon alongside right-handed hitters like Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna, with switch-hitter Anthony Santander also in the mix. Hicks has plenty of center field experience but has been more of a left fielder in recent years. Hays, meanwhile, is considered capable of playing center but has spent more time in the corners recently in deference to Mullins.

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Baltimore Orioles Newsstand Transactions Aaron Hicks Cedric Mullins

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Cedric Mullins Leaves Game Due To Right Abductor/Groin Injury

By Mark Polishuk | May 29, 2023 at 11:09pm CDT

Cedric Mullins left today’s game with what Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters was a strain in the outfielder’s right abductor/groin area.  Mullins suffered the injury in the eighth inning of the 5-0 loss to the Guardians, as the center fielder was trying to beat out a grounder to first base.

More will be known about Mullins’ condition after he undergoes testing, but it certainly looks like he’ll be headed to the 10-day injured list, and the only hope is that his strain is of the relatively mild variety.  In the interim, the Orioles will have to make do without their team leader in fWAR (1.8), and a player who has been a somewhat underrated all-around contributor since the start of the 2021 campaign.

Over 224 plate appearances this season, Mullins has hit .263/.356/.479 with eight homers and 13 steals (in 15 chances).  That translates to a 133 wRC+, which is only slightly behind Mullins’ career-best 136 wRC+ mark over 675 PA in 2021.  It’s worth noting that Mullins’ .362 wOBA far outpaces his .318 wOBA this year because his hard-contact numbers are below average, but (ironically, given the circumstances of today’s injury) Mullins’ excellent speed has often allowed him to turn that soft contact into base hits.  The outfielder’s strikeout and rate walks are well above average, and Mullins’ 11.8% walk rate is easily his career best, and a nice improvement for a player who has sometimes struggled to consistently get on base.

Offense is only part of the story for Mullins, who is also a standout defender in center field.  The Outs Above Average metric has always loved his glovework, and while the UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved metrics are a bit more mixed over the years, he got unanimously positive grades across the board for his center field work in 2022.

Replacing Mullins in the event of a longer-term injury will be very difficult for the Orioles, but the team has enough outfield options to get by if he is only sidelined for a couple or weeks.  Ryan McKenna and Austin Hays are the only other players besides Mullins to see any action in Baltimore’s center field since the start of the 2021 season, and since Hays is already getting regular action in left field, so the O’s might just go with a platoon of McKenna and Terrin Vavra up the middle.

Baltimore has top outfield prospects Colton Cowser and Kyle Stowers down at Triple-A, though both are themselves currently sidelined with injuries.  The Orioles could turn to their prospect depth in another fashion, as The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka suggests Joey Ortiz could be recalled, which shifts Adam Frazier into the outfield mix with Hays, McKenna, and Vavra.  Perhaps the simplest move would be for the Orioles to select the contract of Daz Cameron from Triple-A, as the former first-rounder is hitting well at Triple-A in his first season in the organization.

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Baltimore Orioles Cedric Mullins

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Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By Darragh McDonald | February 9, 2023 at 7:30pm CDT

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

  • Glenn Albanese Jr.
  • Jaime Barria
  • Gustavo Campero
  • Alan Carter
  • Jhonathan Diaz
  • Carlos Estevez
  • David Fletcher
  • Jake Kalish
  • D’Shawn Knowles
  • Shohei Ohtani
  • Jose Quijada
  • Luis Rengifo
  • Gerardo Reyes
  • Patrick Sandoval
  • Mike Trout
  • Gio Urshela
  • Cesar Valdez
  • Zack Weiss
  • Aaron Whitefield

Astros

  • Bryan Abreu
  • Jose Altuve
  • Ronel Blanco
  • Luis Garcia
  • Colton Gordon
  • Cristian Javier
  • Martin Maldonado
  • Rafael Montero
  • Hector Neris
  • Jeremy Pena
  • Ryan Pressly
  • Andre Scrubb
  • Kyle Tucker
  • Jose Urquidy
  • Derek West

Athletics

  • Denzel Clarke
  • Jordan Diaz
  • Jake Fishman
  • Zack Gelof
  • James Gonzalez
  • Adrian Martinez
  • Joshwan Wright

Blue Jays

  • Jose Berrios
  • Jiorgeny Casimiri
  • Yimi Garcia
  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
  • Spencer Horwitz
  • Alejandro Kirk
  • Otto Lopez
  • Damiano Palmegiani

Braves

  • Ronald Acuna Jr.
  • Luis De Avila
  • Roel Ramirez
  • Alan Rangel
  • Eddie Rosario
  • Chadwick Tromp

Brewers

  • Willy Adames
  • Sal Frelick
  • Alex Hall
  • Matt Hardy
  • Joel Payamps
  • Rowdy Tellez
  • Abraham Toro
  • Luis Urias
  • Michele Vassalotti
  • Devin Williams

Cardinals

  • Nolan Arenado
  • Genesis Cabrera
  • Tommy Edman
  • Giovanny Gallegos
  • Paul Goldschmidt
  • Ivan Herrera
  • Matt Koperniak
  • Noah Mendlinger
  • Oscar Mercado
  • Miles Mikolas
  • Lars Nootbaar
  • Tyler O’Neill
  • JoJo Romero
  • Adam Wainwright
  • Guillermo Zuniga

Cubs

  • Javier Assad
  • Owen Caissie
  • Danis Correa
  • Ben DeLuzio
  • Roenis Elias
  • Miles Mastrobuoni
  • Matt Mervis
  • B.J. Murray Jr.
  • Vinny Nittoli
  • Fabian Pertuz
  • Liam Spence
  • Seiya Suzuki
  • Marcus Stroman
  • Pedro Strop
  • Nelson Velazquez
  • Jared Young

Diamondbacks

  • Dominic Fletcher
  • Jakob Goldfarb
  • Gunnar Groen
  • Merrill Kelly
  • Ketel Marte
  • Eric Mendez
  • Dominic Miroglio
  • Emmanuel Rivera
  • Jacob Steinmetz
  • Mitchell Stumpo
  • Alek Thomas

Dodgers

  • Austin Barnes
  • Mookie Betts
  • Freddie Freeman
  • Clayton Kershaw
  • Adam Kolarek
  • Miguel Rojas
  • Will Smith
  • Trayce Thompson
  • Julio Urias

Giants

  • Jonathan Bermudez
  • Camilo Doval
  • Joey Marciano
  • Joc Pederson

Guardians

  • Enyel De Los Santos
  • Dayan Frias
  • Andres Gimenez
  • Bo Naylor
  • Richie Palacios
  • Cal Quantrill
  • Cade Smith
  • Meibrys Viloria
  • Josh Wolf

Marlins

  • Sandy Alcantara
  • Luis Arraez
  • Johnny Cueto
  • Jesus Luzardo
  • Anthony Maldonado
  • Jean Segura

Mariners

  • Matt Brash
  • Diego Castillo
  • Matt Festa
  • Harry Ford
  • Teoscar Hernandez
  • Milkar Perez
  • Julio Rodriguez
  • Eugenio Suarez
  • Blake Townsend

Mets

  • Pete Alonso
  • Jonathan Arauz
  • Edwin Diaz
  • Eduardo Escobar
  • Dominic Hamel
  • Elieser Hernandez
  • Francisco Lindor
  • Jeff McNeil
  • Omar Narvaez
  • Cam Opp
  • Adam Ottavino
  • Jose Quintana
  • Brooks Raley
  • Claudio Scotti

Nationals

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Astros Willing To Listen To Offers On Controllable Starting Pitching

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2022 at 8:08am CDT

July 28: Houston would seek center field and/or catching help that is controlled beyond the current season in any deals for Urquidy or other cost-controlled starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. As Rosenthal points out, many of the obvious cost-controlled options at those positions (e.g. Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds, Athletics catcher Sean Murphy) play on teams that would not necessarily be targeting arb-eligible players with only three seasons of control remaining.

Rosenthal posits the Orioles as a potential partner whose current goals could align with those of the Astros, though Urquidy alone seems unlikely to be sufficient to pry Cedric Mullins loose. I’d add that it bears at least some mention that Baltimore GM Mike Elias knows the Houston system better than most rivals, stemming back to his roots as a scouting director and assistant GM with the ’Stros.

Speculatively speaking, both the Cardinals and Mariners have outfield depth and a need for rotation help. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are deeper in catchers than most clubs and have been on the lookout for potential rotation additions.

July 27: “Controllable starters” is becoming one of the most commonly repeated phrases of the 2022 trade deadline, as far more young arms than expected are being made available to teams in need of starting pitching. ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds the Astros to the growing list of clubs that will at least entertain offers for young, cost-controlled members of their starting rotation, citing multiple GMs who’ve had trade conversations with the Houston front office. Righty Jose Urquidy would appear the likeliest of the bunch to change hands, per the report.

A trade dealing from the Houston rotation isn’t a given, but the ’Stros have plenty of depth to withstand such a move if it means helping them address other areas of need. Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Jake Odorizzi and Urquidy give them six viable starters on the big league roster, and that’s not even including Lance McCullers Jr., who’s on a rehab assignment and trending toward a return to the Major League mound.

Houston also has top prospect Hunter Brown tearing through Triple-A lineups, and righty Brandon Bielak (who has a bit of MLB experience already) is pitching well in Triple-A Sugar Land as well. Former top prospect Forrest Whitley, meanwhile, recently returned from a lengthy stay on the injured list and is building up in Sugar Land, too.

It’s unlikely that Houston would move any member of its current rotation for pure prospects — not when the team has a firm grip on the American League West and appears poised for another potentially deep playoff run. Flipping an arm they control for multiple seasons, however, could be a means of bringing in some help at first base, in the outfield and/or behind the plate. The Astros don’t know when or whether backup catcher Jason Castro and left fielder Michael Brantley will return — Castro from a knee injury and Brantley from a shoulder issue (neither of which the team has elaborated upon to the public). Manager Dusty Baker told reporters about a half-hour ago that Brantley, who’s been on the injured list since June 26, has yet to even swing a bat (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).

Turning to the list of plausible names for the Astros to consider, it’s fairly logical that Urquidy might top the list. Garcia was the American League Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021 and is controlled four more seasons — the most of any current member of the rotation — making him tougher to move. Each of Urquidy, Javier and Valdez are under team control through the 2025 season, but Valdez has stepped up as Houston’s No. 2 starter behind Verlander. Javier, meanwhile, is striking out nearly twice as many hitters as Urquidy and allowing home runs at a much lower rate (0.97 HR/9 to Urquidy’s 1.52).

None of that is to say that Urquidy, 27, is expendable or ineffective. To the contrary, he’s a former Top-100 prospect who’s appeared in parts of four MLB seasons now and pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA in each. He’s currently sporting a solid 3.93 ERA through 100 2/3 innings (18 starts). Urquidy is not and never has been an overpowering pitcher, evidenced by this year’s 18.2% strikeout rate and a career 19.8% mark in that regard, but he has some of the best command of any starter in the Majors. Urquidy is tied for the 12th-lowest walk rate among qualified big league starters (5.2%), and he’s tenth-best among 114 starters with at least 250 innings, dating back to his 2019 MLB debut.

Urquidy will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, as will Javier. (Valdez is in the same service class but already hit arbitration as a Super Two player.) His salary should only jump into the $2-3MM range for the 2023 campaign, and he ought to remain relatively affordable through 2025, his final year of team control.

It bears emphasizing that a trade shouldn’t necessarily be seen as likely. Houston is surely taking an opportunistic approach to the depth they’ve cultivated in the rotation, but the Astros also will surely have a high asking price on Urquidy or any of their other young starters — and understandably so. For as deep as the group looks right now, pitching depth is often fleeting, and the Astros can’t know for certain what the future holds for either Verlander or Odorizzi, both of whom have player options for the 2023 season (assuming Verlander throws another 13 2/3 innings to reach 130 frames on the year, that is).

For now, Urquidy can be lumped in with a mounting number of quality arms who could potentially be acquired for a decent return and controlled by his new club for several seasons. The Marlins are reportedly open to offers on Pablo Lopez, while the Guardians are willing to listen on Zach Plesac. They join long-obvious trade candidates like the Reds’ Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, and the Athletics’ Frankie Montas, as names to watch in advance of next Tuesday’s 6 pm ET trade deadline.

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Baltimore Orioles Houston Astros Newsstand Cedric Mullins Cristian Javier Framber Valdez Jose Urquidy Luis Garcia (Astros RHP)

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