PHILADELPHIA — On Monday morning, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde texted Cedric Mullins and told his All-Star center fielder to come to Citizens Bank Park late.
Mullins was getting a day out of the lineup, and Hyde didn’t want him taking batting practice, either. He delivered a message he once did to high-impact players when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs’ coaching staff.
“Please come to the ballpark as late as possible,” Hyde told Mullins. “I just want you to get ready to hit around the sixth. Just don’t do anything. Relax. Rest.”
Yet more than four hours before that night’s first pitch, Hyde saw Mullins roaming around the ballpark in full uniform, just as he would otherwise.