The players and fans at Camden Yards let out a collective gasp when Cedric Mullins pulled up running to first base in the eighth inning of the Orioles’ 5-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on May 29.
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound center fielder has been one of the team’s most productive players since 2021. Now, Mullins is out indefinitely with a right abductor/groin strain. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 30.
Mullins joined the 30-30 club when he hit 30 homers and stole 30 bases in 2021. This year, he is slashing .263/.356/.479 with 12 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 39 RBIs and 13 steals in 53 games. On May 12, he became the seventh Orioles player in history to hit for the cycle.
“He’s a huge part of our team, and if we’re going to lose him for a little while, we’ll see, but if we have to, then other guys step up,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “This is part of the game. We’ve been pretty fortunate so far this year, and these things happen.”
After Mullins was injured, Ryan McKenna moved to center field and Terrin Vavra took McKenna’s spot in right. McKenna could get the nod to take over center field but Hyde has other options, including Austin Hays, who can move over from left. The club also signed veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks, who was recently released by the New York Yankees.
The Orioles might have liked to get a look at their No. 2 prospect, Colton Cowser, but he is on the injured list with left quad tightness. Kyle Stowers is also out of the mix because he is on the shelf with right shoulder inflammation.
A season full of promise is now shrouded in uncertainty.
“Cedric is one of the biggest pieces of this team and one of the biggest drivers of us winning this year and this winning season,” McKenna said. “It’s going to be a loss for our team. But I prepare the same way every game I can, so if I’m going to be in the lineup more, I’ll be ready and prepared to do so.”
Means Has Setback
The Orioles were expected to get a boost with the return of John Means from Tommy John surgery in July. However, that timeline might have to be extended for the 6-foot-4, 230-pound lefty.
Means strained his left teres major — a muscle in the back — during non-throwing activation drills in rehab, according to Orioles GM Mike Elias.
Means now will not join the big league club until the late summer, if he comes back at all.
“We’re still very much hoping on getting him back this season, but this is obviously going to slow things down and tack on some time before we actually see him out to pitch in games,” Elias told a gathering of reporters at Camden Yards on May 26.
Means has not pitched in a major league game since suffering the injury on April 13, 2022, in his second start of the season.
Means finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019. Two years later, he threw the sixth no-hitter in team history against the Seattle Mariners on May 5, 2021.
Overall, Means is 20-24 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in five major-league seasons.
Rodriguez Sent To Norfolk
Orioles phenom Grayson Rodriguez had some growing pains in his first taste of the major leagues. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound right-hander was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk on May 27 to refine his game.
However, the Orioles expect Rodriguez to play a major role for the club when he returns this season.
“It’s more normal than not to have a guy come up here and go through a little bit of adversity, go back down, know and understand what he needs to work on to get back up here, know that he can have success up here,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We think he’s going to be a really, really good starting pitcher in this league.”
The 23-year-old right-hander went 2-2 with a 7.35 ERA in 10 starts for the Orioles before being sent down. Rodriguez struck out 56, walked 21 and allowed 13 home runs in 45.1 innings.
One day prior to being sent to Norfolk, Rodriguez gave up nine runs (eight earned) on six hits, including two home runs and a grand slam, and three walks in just 3.1 innings in a 12-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.
“Obviously, I got some guys on, didn’t make good pitches, and had to pay for it,” Rodriguez said after the game.
Last year, Rodriguez opened the season at Norfolk and made 11 stellar starts, compiling a 2.09 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 56 innings, before suffering a Grade 2 lat strain. While there was a chance the ailment could have shut him down for the year, Rodriguez returned to minor league games on Sept. 1, exactly three months after his last start before he was shut down.
Rodriguez was promoted to the big-league club when Kyle Bradish was placed on the IL with a right foot contusion on April 5. Now, he’ll try to work out some mechanical issues with the Tides.
“You’ve got to be able to work on both sides of the plate,” Hyde said. “You’ve got to be able to put a guy away with two strikes. You’ve got to be able to go deep in the game. Those are all things that all starting pitchers have to do, and the good ones do it consistently for a long time and get paid a lot of money because of it. He’s going to be that type of guy. Just right now, we feel like the right thing to do for him is to go work on those things and come back up here and be ready to help.”
This story was updated after Cedric Mullins was placed on the 10-day injured list and the club signed Aaron Hicks.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox