Cedric Mullins has been one of the better players on the Baltimore players over the last few years, but that has not been the case this season as his struggles continue, and the team is reportedly looking for an upgrade in center field as the trade deadline slowly approaches, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

In 64 games so far this season, Cedric Mullins is batting .188 with a .239 on-base percentage with six home runs, which has his wRC+ at 62, according to FanGraphs. For a team that has World Series hopes, that is not going to cut it. The Orioles lineup is still dangerous overall, especially with what Gunnar Henderson is doing this season, but it is tough to win a World Series with a player in the lineup who is producing at the level of Mullins.

What makes it tough is that center fielders can be hard to find, and it could be even tougher to find them available on the trade market. It might be easier to land a center fielder who is light-hitting, but played stellar defense. Someone who could fit that mold is New York Mets center fielder Harrison Bader, who can provide offense at times, but is known for playing great defense. He could be a nice piece at the bottom of the lineup for the Orioles to replace Mullins.

As far as Mullins goes, he will have to turn it around over the course of the rest of the season, or next season, which is his final year of arbitration before becoming a free agent. Only time will tell if he plays through the 2025 season with Baltimore, an organization which he thrived with at a certain point in time.

Although the Orioles are looking for a replacement for Mullins in center field, there are other holes that the team will likely want to fill before the deadline to try to beat out the New York Yankees for the American League East crown.

Orioles' outlook and trade targets at 2024 deadline

As mentioned above, it is clear that the Orioles are looking for a center fielder at the deadline to improve from what they are getting from Mullins at this point. The other area of the team that sticks out is the starting pitching department, which has been dealt a lot of injuries.

Kyle Bradish, John Means, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells are all on the injured for the Orioles. John Means is out for the year with Tommy John surgery, while Tyler Wells is out for the season as well. Dean Kremer might be able to return at some point, while Kyle Bradish was placed on the IL on Saturday after suffering a right UCL sprain, which is the second one he has suffered this year going back to Spring Training.

On top of trying to find a replacement for Mullins, the Orioles will have to supplement their starting rotation.