San Francisco Giants Linked as Landing Spot for Struggling Outfielder

The San Francisco Giants are in a weird spot which could lead them into buying-low at the MLB trade deadline rather than going after the big names.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic went through every team’s needs and assigned them potential targets. An intriguing name for the Giants was Baltimore Orioles star Cedric Mullins.

Mullins has been a historically solid batter to along with a great glove, but is struggling mightily at the plate this season. With the Orioles looking to win a World Series this year, they could be in the market of trading him for a pitcher while looking for another “win-now” option in the outfield.

He was slashing just .197/.245/.343 at the plate entering Friday. On June 20, he hit his first home run since the end of April, breaking out of a huge slump.

The last time that he was this inconsistent at the plate the was the beginning of his career.

The North Carolina native was drafted in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB draft by Baltimore. He made his debut in 2018. While he was already showing promise in the field, he was way behind as a hitter.

He slashed .235/.312/.359 in 45 games as a rookie. Things got worse after that, though, as he logged just 22 games the next season with a horrid slashing line of .094/.181/.156.

The Orioles didn’t give up, though, as he bounced back a year later to finally look ready to be consistent at the big league level.

His first full season came in 2021 and it was better than anyone could have expected. He earned his first All-Star nod and Silver Slugger award. He had a 30-30 performance launching home runs and stealing bases constantly.

While he’s never surpassed that .291/.360/.518 slash line, he’s still been ok at the plate.

A trade could make sense for the Giants. While they have battled to stay relevant in the playoff race, going all in for this season could make sense.

Not having as much pressure for an immediate turnaround could also be in Mullins’ favor. While it would be nice to have him perform at a better level for the rest of the campaign, next year could be more important.

Moving Jung Hoo Lee to one of the corner outfield spots could also proved to be beneficial. Mullins is able to cover more ground while Lee has a much stronger arm.