3 words NY Mets fans will be saying by Friday about trade candidate Cedric Mullins

It doesn’t seem so long ago that Cedric Mullins was a thriving center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles. In 2021, the switch-hitting outfielder broke out with a memorable season that awarded him a ninth-place finish in the MVP race. His name has routinely popped up as a desirable trade candidate for teams like the New York Mets whose center field situation has been so insecure the last few seasons that it never refuses to go a year without getting a doctor’s note whenever pool day arrives in gym class.

The 30-year-old pending free agent has nearly identical slash line numbers in comparison to the last two seasons. He’s at .213/.300/.415 on the season, seeing his batting average drop most significantly from the .234 it was last year and .233 from a season before. A good defender in the past as well, he hasn’t rated well so far in 2025. He’s at -2 for Run Value and has an Outs Above Average of 1. Both totals have been on the decline since 2021/2022 when he was at his best.

The Mets and Orioles play three games this week which’ll give us a rare opportunity to see Mullins a little more closely. By Friday, Mets fans are likely to have the same three words ringing through their heads.

Three words for Mets fans to have in their minds by Friday about Cedric Mullins: “Not good enough.”

Mullins isn’t a defensive upgrade over Tyrone Taylor nor would he probably be one over Jose Siri—whenever he plans to come back. At the plate, even in the down year he is having, it would give the Mets a boost in center field without costing them too much defensively. At worst, we can probably call him an average center fielder.

This is the tricky part. Mullins will be in demand because of the position he plays and the Orioles need to sell him, unlike the Chicago White Sox with Luis Robert Jr. or Boston Red Sox with Jarred Duran. Neither of them are guaranteed to hit free agency, leaving Mullins as the center fielder of choice for renters. It’s a position many teams would like to improve. All things considered, they’re probably just fine with a combination of really good defenders (Taylor and Siri) along with a big splash of Jeff McNeil.

McNeil has handled the position fine and if it can improve the offense overall, he can stick there regularly. The trouble is the Mets should look into acquiring a bat. The DH spot seems congested. Second base and third base are two possibilities pending the continued growth or stunted development of players like Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty.

With the Mets bullpen in tatters and a rotation possibly in need of an arm as well, center field just doesn’t feel like such a big gap when the plan all along was to have a pair of number nine hitters share the position.

Mullins makes the Mets better, in theory. He doesn’t improve them enough. He hit under .200 in May and June a with an OBP barely above .200. The Mets serve themselves better by going after someone on the rise, not lost at the plate.