Mullins on returning from IL stint and Coulombe on starting one

SEATTLE – The Orioles got their center fielder back today. Limited to 69 games this year with two stints on the injured list, now they want to keep Cedric Mullins back on the field and in the lineup.

Mullins first went on the IL in late May with a right groin strain and returned June 24.  But on July 19 he was back on the 10-day IL with a right adductor groin strain. He played four rehab games this week for Double-A Bowie, going 3-for-20 and tonight rejoins the O’s batting fifth in center.

"We're excited to have him back," manager Brandon Hyde said. "He feels good and joined us on the trip last night. He's had a couple of stints on the IL and we are hoping to he can stay healthy for us the rest of the year. He's a big part of our club and makes a huge impact for us offensively and defensively." 

“I’m very ready,” Mullins said this afternoon in the visitor’s clubhouse. “During the rehab assignment was watching the guys do their thing out there. Just seeing a lot of guys have some fun and I’m ready to get back in it.

“Injuries are never fun to deal with, but this time around my confidence when it came to running when I started back up was a lot smoother than the first time. So I felt like in terms of the recovery, what we did this time has definitely been beneficial to keep me around.”

Mullins feels like he’s a full go and should, he hopes, knock on wood, and have no further issues with his groin.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “It’s definitely a good feeling to get some good reads (on defense) down there in Double-A. Got some at-bats down there as well and was able to get the work I needed and join back up with the team.”

Knowing he has dealt with a similar issue twice now, Mullins seemed confident there will not be a third time.

“It’s just a matter of continuing to stay healthy,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to describe what the plan is in terms of that. We’ll make daily assessments, but as soon as I step on that field I’m 100 percent go.”

Mullins is batting .259/.347/.454/.801 with nine homers and 47 RBIs. Before he last went on the IL, he was 9-for-22 (.409) in his last six MLB games.

“Feel ready to go, I’m excited to be back," he added.

Hyde said he wasn't sure how he would handle the leadoff spot moving forward, whether Adley Rutschman stays there and he's hitting first tonight, or Mullins becomes more of the everyday guy atop the order. 

Mullins enjoyed his brief return to Double-A, where the Baysox players were picking his brain. And he also remembered how he began the 2019 season as an O’s starter but ended it in the playoffs with Bowie after big-time struggles. But it was at Bowie he began to get his game back in order and he later returned to the majors where he was a 30-30 guy, homers and steals, in the 2021 season.

“They were picking my brain like crazy. Fun to be around those guys. They show a lot of promise down there, was fun.

“Those memories (of being at Bowie then) are never going to fade and just being back there, some of that came back. Remembering the work I put in and I kind of felt the same way recovering from this injury – just focus on what I needed to do to get back up. Now its great to get back."

Coulombe update: Orioles reliever Danny Coulombe is with the team in Seattle after going on the 15-day IL on Thursday with left biceps tendinitis.

Coulombe, who is 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA, is optimistic he will be back when his IL time is up.

“We decided the best way to was give it 15 days to cool down and be ready for the stretch run.

“We’re not overly worried about it. We think we have a good game plan to get over it and take it a day at a time,” he said. “This club has expectations to make a long run in the playoffs and we want to all be healthy and contribute.

“I don’t want to give an exact timetable, but we are pretty optimistic it’s a shorter thing rather than a longer thing. It feels better and we’re pretty optimistic about it."

With Cole Irvin returning to the rotation tomorrow, the Birds have just Cionel Pérez and Nick Vespi as bullpen lefties and Perez could be unavailable tonight after pitching the last two days.