A shocking Orioles-Phillies trade to boost Philadelphia's outfield

The Baltimore Orioles could trade Cedric Mullins, their starting center fielder, to a contender before the trade deadline. Let me explain.

The Orioles have more outfielders than they know what to do with. Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad aren't going anywhere because they're two thirds of the future in Baltimore's outfield. Anthony Santander is having the best season of any Baltimore outfielder. Austin Hays is performing well in his role and Kyle Stowers desperately needs more playing time. Top prospect, Connor Norby, is banging on the door to be called up to the big leagues.

And that leaves Cedric Mullins. He's talented enough to play at the big league level, obviously, but he could slowly become a victim of the Orioles ridiculous depth. Stunting Stowers and Norby's growth by not allowing them to play because they have Mullins in front of them is crazy to consider.

And MLB insider Jim Bowden has already made a link to one suitor for Mullins: the surging Philadelphia Phillies.

An Orioles-Phillies trade that helps both teams in their own way

Mullins, 29, has been hit or miss this season. He's slashing .214/.256/.373 on the season, but in the month of July, he's really struggled, slashing .188/.212/.250 in 32 at bats. It's to the point that he could be valuable to the Phillies given his upside, but he isn't as valuable to the Orioles because he's blocking their young talent.

Coming with an additional year of team control, Mullins won't be the cheapest option on the trade block.

Two mid tier players in the Phillies' top 30 prospects should get the deal done.

De La Cruz has plenty of upside, being a 6-foot-8 outfielder with the ability to play first base. He's slashing .263/.333/.423 on the season across two levels of the minor leagues while showing a glimpse into his true raw power. He's an intriguing, high upside prospect that could provide valuable upside to the Orioles farm system.

McGowan is slowly getting closer to cracking the big leagues. He's looked good in 2024, albeit in a short sample size. He's tossed 14.1 innings of 2.51 ERA baseball. His kryptonite this year has been the free passes, walking 10 batters in that time frame. The Orioles could look to acquire him and move him to a bullpen role that may suit him better.

This is one of those rare trades that could make sense for two contending teams. Mullins would be an "addition by subtraction" trade piece for the Orioles that could now fill his spot with younger, higher upside players. It's understandable if the Orioles wouldn't want to mess with their team chemistry by doing this deal, but from the outside looking in, it makes sense.