It’s Official: Philadelphia Phillies Pull Off Stunning Trade for Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins
As the Philadelphia Phillies prepare for a long summer of battling for playoff position, there’s one position that still craves an upgrade.
Ever since Phillies fans started having doubts that Johan Rojas would be the center fielder of the future, they’ve been clamoring for a replacement. But so far, all the Phillies have done is shift Brandon Marsh from left field to center, a defensive downgrade, and bring in struggling left fielders.
Austin Hays didn’t work out last year, and so far this year, Max Kepler has been mediocre too. And center field is the toughest defensive outfield position to play at Citizens Bank Park, so ideally, the Phillies won’t have to put Marsh out there all season.
If the Phillies are willing to make another deadline deal this year, one idea could be revisiting trade talks with the Baltimore Orioles.
On Thursday, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller named Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, who is off to an excellent start to his walk year, as a potential trade target for Philadelphia at the deadline.
“Mullins could be an intriguing option,” Miller wrote.
“He’s in his final season before hitting free agency for the first time, and the Orioles have a bit of a logjam of hitters deserving of regular playing time. They don’t even need to fall out of contention in order to consider moving him at the deadline.”
In 12 games this season, Mullins has already been worth 0.6 rWAR, putting up a .971 OPS with three home runs in 50 plate appearances. He hasn’t quite matched his 2021 All-Star campaign offensively, but he’s still been worth between 2.6 and 4.0 rWAR every season since.
If Philadelphia could offer the Orioles some minor-league pitching with upside, it’s easy to see the two sides finding common ground on an agreement