BALTIMORE — Despite optimism that Cedric Mullins had avoided a substantial injury, the Orioles are sending their starting center fielder to the injured list for the second time in less than two months.
Prior to Wednesday’s series finale with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore placed Mullins on the 10-day IL with a right adductor groin strain. The Orioles initially labeled the issue as “right quadriceps tightness” after he exited last Saturday’s game against Miami, but manager Brandon Hyde said the soreness has been “moving around in the upper leg area” for the speedy outfielder, who had been able to hit and throw before doing some agility work on Tuesday.
“It’s a lower body injury that we just want to take a little more time with and be careful with,” Hyde said. “It has been progressing, [but] it’s just not progressing at the rate that we were hoping. The right thing to do is to make sure he’s all the way healthy and running well before we activate him.”
Right-handed reliever Logan Gillaspie was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take Mullins’ place on the 26-man roster, and veteran Aaron Hicks was starting in center field on Wednesday. Rookie Colton Cowser and All-Star left fielder Austin Hays will provide additional depth in center field during Mullins’ absence.
The IL move is retroactive to July 16, meaning Mullins would be eligible to return by the middle of next week. Speaking to reporters prior to Tuesday’s game, the 28-year-old expressed hope that he could return to the lineup later this week, but he also acknowledged he hadn’t yet tried to run as of that afternoon, which didn’t seem to mesh with that optimism.
The timing of the injury is unfortunate as Mullins had gone 4-for-5 with a home run, a stolen base, and two runs batted in coming out of the All-Star break. After missing nearly a month of action with a groin strain originally suffered on Memorial Day, Mullins struggled in his June 24 return from the IL, batting .192 with a .548 on-base plus slugging percentage over 61 plate appearances going into the break.
“I think being able to continue to hit without any issues is going to keep the swing where it is,” Mullins said Tuesday. “That’s the goal at least to continue to have some movement. But yeah, having some momentum, feeling the swing come back and having to deal with this, it’s always frustrating.”
In 290 plate appearances over 69 games this season, Mullins is batting .259 with nine homers, 16 doubles, three triples, 47 RBIs, 14 steals, and an .801 OPS.
