The New York Mets continued their busy trade deadline on Thursday, as the club acquired outfielder Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for three prospects, according to multiple reports. New York's deal for Mullins comes on the heels of the club's acquisition of relief pitchers Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley as part of an effort to revamp its bullpen.
By importing Mullins, the Mets have now filled an important void in the outfield as well. Meanwhile, the Orioles netted a trio of prospects for Mullins, a pending free agent that the club may have lost this winter.
With that in mind, let's assess how both clubs made out in the trade.
Mets: A-
David Stearns's impressive trade deadline continues. Stearns completely revamped New York's bullpen without surrendering any of the club's top nine prospects on the farm. That was impressive in and of itself. Now, Stearns has added Mullins, a former All-Star center fielder, parting ways with No. 14 prospect Anthony Nunez, hard-throwing righthander and No. 30 prospect Raimon Gomez, and High-A relief pitcher Chandler Marsh, who joined the club as an undrafted free agent this past season.
Mullins has disappointed a bit at the plate this season, as evidenced by his .229/.305/.433 slash line. But he's been on a roll at the plate as of late, as he's clubbed 10 extra base hits and posted a 137 wRC+ in July while playing his usual blend of strong defense. The April 12 injury to centerfielder Jose Siri, and subsequent setback in his recovery, left a crater in center field for New York.
But Mullins, who has pop in his bat, speed on the base paths and rates as an above average defender in center, fits the bill as a grade-A upgrade, even if he amounts to a rental bat. He figures to also be the perfect addition to the bottom of the Mets batting order, which has struggled for much of this season.
Orioles: B-
It feels like the Orioles could have netted a better prospect haul for Mullins, a former All-Star, though his 104 wRC+—just 10th among all center fielders—and his status as a 2026 free agent, likely lowered his price tag more than Baltimore would have liked.
Even still, there's no shame in the trio of prospects headed to Baltimore. Nunez, a position-player-turned-pitcher, has dominated hitters at the Double-A level thanks to a four-pitch mix and his athleticism from his former days as an infielder in the San Diego Padres farm system. Gomez, is a powerful righthander who boasts a triple digits on his fastball and wicked upper-80s, low-90s slider that have proven tough for High-A hitters to handle. Walks have been an issue for Gomez though. He'll need to display better control to excel in the majors, but there's promise here for sure. Meanwhile, Marsh, an undrafted pitcher out of Georgia, owns a mid-90s fastball and slider and has posted a 3.45 ERA and 28.8 percent strikeout rate at the High-A level.
Overall, Baltimore's front office was able to take advantage of both Mullins's stellar July and a sellers' market to net a solid return for a pending free agent, even though it had to be tough to part ways with the longest-tenured Oriole. Plus, the club addressed its farm system's biggest weakness: its stash of young pitchers.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cedric Mullins Trade Grades: How Did Mets, Orioles Make Out in Deal?.
