Cedric Mullins' June slump couldn't have come at a worse time for the Orioles

Timing is everything.

Eric Cole

Los Angeles Angels v Baltimore Orioles / Peyton Stoike/Baltimore Orioles/GettyImages

It's been well-established for a while now that the Baltimore Orioles' biggest trade chip at the deadline is Cedric Mullins. He's a free agent at the end of the season, a strong defender at a premium position, and has shown flashes of brilliance at the plate over the course of his career. Unfortunately, his play during the month of June threatens to torpedo his trade value.

Orioles fans have known that Mullins is a streaky hitter who relies on his speed, defense, and ability to draw walks to help prop up his value. It would be amazing if Mullins was closer to the 2021 version of himself, but he generally ends up being a 2-3 WAR player each season and that's sufficient enough to make him an attractive trade target.

His 11 games this month, however, could cause his value to crater and raise questions as to whether or not he's actually healthy and a viable trade candidate.

Cedric Mullins' struggles (and injury) may cost the Orioles dearly at the trade deadline

In 41 plate appearances this month (since coming back from a hamstring injury), Mullins has posted a .154/.195/.359 slash line with two homers being the only bright spot on his résumé. A team can live with Mullins being an average hitter by wRC+ when he provides so much value with his glove and on the bases. However, being a black hole at the plate negates much of his baserunning value since he isn't, you know, on basepaths. His defense doesn't overcome that level of offensive ineptitude.

In an ideal world, Mullins would've come back from his injury and showed out. The price Baltimore could command for Mullins as a rental was always going to be somewhat limited, but there were sure to be a number of bidders for his services given the lack of available bats.

Instead, potential suitors will wonder which version of Mullins they would be getting, and if his hamstring is fully healed. Teams will almost certainly be getting a great defender in center, but those in need of help on offense may shy away now that Mullins has seemingly forgotten how to hit. For the Orioles, the timing is absolutely brutal and another item on the long list of disappointments this season.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.