A Potential Trade with the Philadelphia Phillies Would Bring Silver Slugger to Outfield.

Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies have been looking for the ideal combination of talent and value in the outfield. While they still need an outfielder, the Philadelphia Phillies don’t want to give up everything for one of the top players. Even if the market might not be as robust as some would have thought it was earlier in the season, some quality names will still be available. For Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, Zach Pressnell of FanSided put together an intriguing deal that wouldn’t break the bank.

In return for Carlos De La Cruz, a first baseman and outfielder, and Christian McGowan, a right-handed pitcher, Philadelphia would acquire Mullins. Mullins’ professional history is intriguing. After spending a few seasons bouncing between the minors and majors, he eventually made a splash in 2021 with an All-Star and Silver Slugger-winning season. His slashing line of.291/.360/.518 was quite nice, as he hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases. He had a phenomenal season that launched him into the spotlight, but he hasn’t been able to match it since. In 2022 and 2023, his.248/.313/.408 line was merely passable. Although his abilities decreased, he was still able to steal a bag.

He has significantly slowed down as of 2024. All he could muster was a.214/.256/.373 line. The interesting thing is that, over the past month, he’s started to look more like himself, with a.276/.300/.483 line. In the hopes that he gets back to normal, the Phillies might purchase low on him. By the end of the following season, he will also be under team control. De La Cruz and McGowan together would be extremely reasonably priced in Philadelphia. Although De La Cruz has shown himself to be a reliable player in the minor levels on a regular basis, he is growing too old to play in the minors for very much longer.

He’s sliced, at last reaching the Triple-A level.This across that and Double-A is 253/.333/.423. Although Mullins won’t be with Baltimore for very long, his ceiling isn’t much higher than that of a rotational outfielder. When healthy, McGowan possesses a strong fastball; the issue has been maintaining his health. In four seasons in the minor leagues, he has only appeared in 20 games. But he’s looked excellent when he’s thrown. His lifetime ERA is 3.27, and he has a 10 K/9. Although the Phillies think he could develop into a reliable starter, he could perform well out of the bullpen.

From Philadelphia’s perspective, this makes sense overall, but it might not be sufficient to entice the outfielder to go.