Rays' Struggling Slugger Might Finally Be Breaking Out of Slump

Which slugger from the Tampa Bay Rays is finally breaking out of his slump?

Mar 30, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; A detailed view of the Tampa Bay Rays hat at American Family Field. | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to roll with the best record in the American League, and the team is now seeing one of their struggling players start to heat up as well. 

Following another series win against the Miami Marlins, the Rays are now (30-15) on the season and remain in first place in the AL East. With a few games lead on the New York Yankees now, Tampa Bay continues to prove they are one of the best teams in the league. 

So far, the team has been led largely by one of the best starting rotations in baseball that features a talented trio. However, they also have a great trio in their lineup that has had to carry a lot of the weight. 

Offensive production was certainly an area of concern for the team coming into the season, but they have been able to muster enough offense to succeed so far. However, one player that they certainly were hoping to see more from was free agent signing Cedric Mullins. Fortunately, despite a terrible start to the year, he might be starting to heat up. 

Mullins Might Finally Be Getting Going

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

It has been no secret that Mullins has not had a good season for the Rays so far this year. The former All-Star was brought in to be a positive contributor for their offense and help them solve a need in center field. 

Offensive production for Tampa Bay in the outfield was terrible last year, and Mullins figured to be able to help with that. However, he was coming off a terrible second half of the season with the New York Mets, and that carried over. 

However, while he has struggled overall, a recent stretch has been encouraging to see. Following Sunday’s game, Mullins is now on a five-game hitting streak and has been able to total eight hits during that span. A bulk of the success came from a four-hit game for the slugger, but seeing him get a modest hitting streak going is encouraging. 

As expected with the success, the batting average is starting to head in the right direction as well. During the hitting streak, his batting average has gone up nearly 40 points, and the team is certainly happy to be getting some good production from him finally. 

Now, while the recent success has been good for Mullins, he must sustain it and try to build upon it. With Jake Fraley heading to the injured list, the team will need him to continue to step up.