Orioles continue to reap rewards from Cedric Mullins trade

Trading Cedric Mullins was a painful moment for fans of the Baltimore Orioles. He had been a bright spot during some of the darkest years in the franchise's history, and many fans were hopeful that the Orioles might buck the trend of letting their players walk and find a way to keep him aboard.

The team's disastrous start to the 2025 season made the Orioles choice for them, and they jettisoned all their players who were set to be free agents at the end of the season, including Mullins. He who went to the New York Mets in exchange for three pitching prospects. Now one of those players has made the majors, and every time he takes the mound, the excitement around his future grows.

Anthony Nunez has already changed the shape of the Orioles bullpen

At the time of the trade, Anthony Nunez was a big get for the Orioles. The Mets have a very good farm system, and Nunez was their No. 14 prospect. That may not sound very high, but positional value plays a role in these rankings, and it's rare for a pure reliever to be so highly regarded in a strong system.

Coming into the season with Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin out, the only defined role in the bullpen was Ryan Helsley as the closer; everything else was up for grabs. In a bullpen full of mostly unknown and unproven arms, it was truly anyone's guess who would rise to the top. There was some shuffling at the beginning of the season, but it only took one week for manager Craig Albernaz to determine that Nunez was going to be one of his high-leverage arms.

After being used as a mop-up guy in the Orioles early losses to the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers, Nunez has been used exclusively in high-leverage spots, entering primarily in the eighth inning to set up save situations. This is a big responsibility to give to a rookie in his first month in the big leagues, and Nunez has handled it really well.

Nunez so good it's almost confusing. He's got a 34.4% K rate and a 65% ground ball rate: what are hitters supposed to do? Just go back to the dugout and not waste everyone's time? He doesn't walk anyone either, so you can't just swing and hope that works out like you can with some of the nastier relievers.

The pitch data is excellent, and according to stuff+, he has one of the best changeups and sweepers in baseball. There is nothing flukey about the results he's getting from these pitches. It's also worth noting that, despite only becoming a pitcher a couple of years ago, he mixes his pitches really well, and he's found a way to be split-proof.

Nunez is a young pitcher, and he's bound to face some growing pains at some point this season, especially once word gets out about how he's been dominating and his name rises to the top of the scouting report. It will be interesting to see how hitters adapt to him and how he responds, but based on what he's shown so far, he's going to be a good reliever for a long time in Baltimore.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow