Astros general manager Dana Brown has been open about his desire to add some left-handed hitting to Houston’s predominantly righty-swinging lineup, and it isn’t any surprise that the club reportedly has some interest in a player who may be one of the deadline’s most intriguing rental bats. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Astros have “eyes on Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins,” but didn’t elaborate as to whether or not Houston is just considering Mullins at this point, or if any exploratory talks have taken place between the Astros and Orioles front offices.
The 30-year-old Mullins is hitting .213/.295/.413 with 12 homers over 272 plate appearances this season, translating to an almost exactly average 101 wRC+. Much of his success came in the first four weeks, as Mullins had an outstanding .983 OPS over his first 111 plate appearances of 2025, but he then sputtered to a .161/.197/.329 slash line (for a .526 OPS) in his next 158 trips to the plate. He also had a minimal stint on the 10-day IL due to a hamstring strain right at the end of May and into the start of June, but Mullins’ fortunes didn’t improve after returning to action.
Apart from his respectable whiff and walk rates, Mullins’ Statcast numbers are otherwise a sea of blue, speaking to his struggles over the last two months. His 25.7% strikeout rate is particularly troublesome, as it is easily the highest of his eight MLB seasons. Mullins’ 55.4% fly ball rate is also a career high and his .202 Isolated Power number is the second-highest of his career, so while his apparent change in approach to seek out more power is keeping his wRC+ afloat, it is hampering his overall productivity at the plate.
With a modest career 107 wRC+ entering 2025, Mullins’ value has only been partially tied to his bat. He stole 115 bases in 143 attempts in 2021-24, though Mullins is only 8-for-10 so far in 2025. Public defensive metrics have generally been mixed on his center field glovework, and this season has had one of the biggest splits of opinion yet — the Outs Above Aveerage metrics puts Mullins at +1 for his 550 1/3 innings in center, while Defensive Runs Saved has him at a dismal -15.
Since Jake Meyers is one of the game’s better defensive center fielders, the Astros almost certainly wouldn’t be using Mullins up the middle anyway. Rookie Cam Smith has made a very solid accounting for himself in his first MLB season, so left field would be the likeliest landing spot if Mullins did indeed end up in Houston. The chain reaction here would probably send Jose Altuve back to his old second base spot on a full-time basis, as Altuve’s glove hasn’t adjusted well to the move to left field this season.
About half of Mullins’ $8.725MM salary for the season has already been paid out, and he’d have about $2.8MM remaining if dealt directly on the July 31 deadline day. It is an open secret that Houston is trying to stay under the $241MM luxury tax threshold, so adding Mullins’ relatively modest salary would still be a fit even within the team’s relatively narrow financial window. RosterResource projects the Astros’ current tax number at around $235.5MM, which gives the club some (but not much) space for deadline additions.
Mullins’ low salary will likely get him attention from several teams heading into the deadline, even despite his unimpressive numbers over the last two months. Multiple clubs could be looking at his past track record rather than his most immediate results, and the “change of scenery” factor might also come into play.
It stands to reason that the Astros may wait until later into July to pull the trigger on any big deals, as the team might want more clarity on the status of Yordan Alvarez and other injured players before deciding on any lineup upgrades. Alvarez has missed almost two months due to a hand injury that was eventually diagnosed as a fracture, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Alvarez will be facing live pitching at the Astros’ minor league facility this week. Outfielder Chas McCormick will also join Alvarez in the assignment, as McCormick has missed the last month recovering from an oblique strain.
The Orioles’ win over the Rays today boosted their record to 36-47, and Baltimore has now gone 21-19 since Tony Mansolino took over from Brandon Hyde as manager. GM Mike Elias took a candid assessment of his club’s situation in comments with reporters yesterday, and said that the Orioles are preparing at the moment to be both buyers and sellers, and a clearer decision will be made as July develops.
This could mean that Mullins and other impending free agents will be natural trade candidates in the lead-up to July 31. Even if the O’s do manage to claw their way back into the pennant race, Mullins might still get moved in order to address another roster need, akin to how Baltimore dealt Austin Hays (also in his last year of team control) to the Phillies prior to last year’s deadline. Mullins’ struggles haven’t done much to help his trade value, of course, nor his chances of landing a solid multi-year contract as a free agent this winter.