The Baltimore Orioles, the current leader of the AL East with a 61-42 record, pulled off a rare big-leaguer for big-leaguer trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, the team with the best record in the MLB at the moment, on Friday. Baltimore acquired reliever Seranthony Dominguez and outfielder Cristian Pache in exchange for Austin Hays, and they may not be done making moves quite yet.
But instead of trading some of their enviable prospect capital in consolidation trades to acquire superstar-level players, it appears as though the Orioles are focused more on fielding offers for some of the team's veteran players. The players the Orioles have been entertaining trade calls for include first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Cedric Mullins, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Mountcastle and Mullins have mostly been everyday players for the Orioles over the past five or six seasons. But due to the Orioles' seemingly endless supply of quality young players in their farm system, they will have to make some difficult decisions as they will have to open up some playing time and roster spots for those players soon.
Will the Orioles actually trade Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle away?
It seems jarring that a contending team such as the Orioles would want to rock the boat. Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle have been on the team way before Baltimore even became a threat to win the World Series. Moreover, there is rarely such a thing as too much depth in the hunt for a World Series title, as having many solid players gives the team insurance in the event of an injury.
But again, the Orioles have a few prospects knocking on the door of becoming everyday players. In the outfield, the Orioles have already begun phasing Mullins out of the lineup. With the addition of Pache, Mullins may not have a role as a pinch-running, outfield depth piece. Colton Cowser has been steadily introduced as an everyday player, which makes Mullins that much more likely of a trade candidate.
Mullins has struggled throughout 2024 as well. Long gone are the days of him being a player whose production was worth 6.0 WAR. This season, the 29-year-old outfielder is slashing .214/.259/.375, and it's his baserunning that has kept his production above replacement value.
But as for Mountcastle, he has still been an everyday player for the most part in 2024. He still has a hold on the first baseman job, as his production this season (12 home runs, 44 RBIs, .751 OPS, 112 WRC+) has mostly been in line with his previous seasons. Top prospect Coby Mayo, however, is on the cusp of the big leagues. Mayo has hit 19 home runs and driven in 57 runs with a slash line of .295/.372/.582 in Triple-A, and it won't be long before the Orioles deem him to be too good for the minor leagues.
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