Latest Astros rumor doesn't bode well for Mariners in AL West race

The Seattle Mariners have been in decent enough form of late with an 11-6 record in their past 17 games, encompassing just one series loss along the way. However, the Houston Astros have been even better over the same period and as of Tuesday morning they hold a 6.0 game lead at the top of the AL West.

The thinking entering the 2025 season was that the Astros were there for the taking, but instead there's every chance they're going to win their eighth divisional title in the past nine years. And now it seems that the Astros could be in a position to strengthen their roster ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Astros are aggressively looking for a left-handed bat on the market. In particular, they apparently have their eyes set on Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, which is the kind of thing the Mariners don't really need to see happen, at least in theory.

Cedric Mullins is a faltering but still capable talent

Yes, we appreciate that Mullins isn't playing up to his usual level so far in 2025, but this is still a player who was an All-Star in 2021 and finished ninth in voting for AL MVP. He has great speed, which helps him both on base and in center field, but the one question mark surrounding him right now is his bat.

The 30-year-old entered this season with a career .252 batting average and .744 OPS — not great, but decent enough in the grand scheme of things. He then proceeded to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders, highlighted by a 1.023 OPS through the first four weeks of the season.

Since then, however, Mullins has struggled at the plate and even spent 10 days on the injured list with a right hamstring strain. In any event, an overall .213 batting average, .708 OPS and 101 wRC on the season is not exactly something to write home about.

Mariners need to consider their own play for Cedric Mullins

When it comes to the Greensboro, North Carolina native, what you're really doing is looking to add the potential of what he's capable of, which is what should scare the Mariners. However, there is a potential solution to combat what the Astros are contemplating doing, which is to effectively beat them at their own game.

There's no doubt the Mariners miss Víctor Robles and that the Leody Taveras experiment did not work out in Seattle, meaning the team could still use some help in the outfield. So why not make your own play for Mullins, which Zachary Rymer suggested back in May?

To be clear, we're not going to die on this hill as such, just because of Mullins' slump with his bat combined with having to pay the balance of his $8.725 million salary for this year. However, the Mariners at least need to perform their due diligence and investigate the possibility, as they look for ways to remain in touch with the Astros at the AL West summit.