rays/news/rays-predicted-cut-former-orioles-fan-favorite-outfielder/c8d43ed8feab4b4c390d172a?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=appeared_on">Rays predicted to cut ties with former Orioles fan favorite outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Tampa Bay Rays have spent most of the 2026 season in first place in the AL East.
However, a 5.5-game lead in May has vanished, and the Rays are now tied with the New York Yankees as of Monday morning.
To win the division, the Rays will need their absolute best starting unit on the field on most days.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller predicts that of all of Tampa Bay’s players, outfielder Cedric Mullins has the best chance of being designated for assignment.
“To his credit, Mullins has been better in recent weeks. His home run this past Friday was the capstone on a 16-game stretch with an .881 OPS,” Miller wrote about the former Baltimore Orioles fan favorite. “However, he was at .421 prior to that, after closing out last season with a .419 OPS in his final 24 games played.”
Mullins can still run the ball down with the best of them in center field, so the Rays might have to let him go if they manage to find space on the bench as a fourth outfielder.
But other players could be in line to take his spot sooner rather than later.
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“If outfield prospect Jacob Melton hadn’t suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain in late April, he might have taken over Mullins’ job prior to that aforementioned 16-game stretch,” Miller added.
An All-Star in 2021, Mullins’ offensive statistics have trended downward in recent years. However, he managed a 106 OPS+ in 2025 with the Orioles and the New York Mets.
Another team is likely to take a flier on Mullins if the Rays decide to cut ties with the left-handed hitter.
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