Struggling Slugger Has Made Center Field a Position of Concern for Rays

Do the Tampa Bay Rays have a position of need early on?

Aug 16, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; A Tampa Bay Rays helmet sits in the dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have hit a bit of a skid following their six-game winning streak, and they have now lost two straight series and three games in a row. 

Following an impressive stretch of baseball for the Rays, in which they were in first place in the American League East, the National League Central has proved to be a tough matchup for Tampa Bay. The Rays lost two out of three games on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and then they followed it up with two straight losses at home to the Cincinnati Reds. 

While both of these teams are playing well, the Rays are surely hoping to bounce back soon. Even though the season overall has been a strong one for Tampa Bay, there are a couple of early concerns for the team so far. Offensive production was something that the franchise was undoubtedly worried about coming into the year, but the unit has been better than expected. However, not every player has lived up to expectations, and one position has been a weakness. 

David Schoenfield of ESPN recently wrote about center field being a need for the Rays, and with the disappointing production from Cedric Mullins, that is certainly the case. 

Mullins Struggling Still 

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

This winter, one of the bigger moves that Tampa Bay made was the signing of the free agent center fielder. The Rays know Mullins very well from his long career with the Baltimore Orioles before he was traded to the New York Mets at the trade deadline last year. However, despite a lot of success with the Orioles, he wasn’t able to find his groove with New York. 

The terrible second half of the season likely resulted in his free agency being a bit cooler than he would have liked, and the Rays were able to get him on a one-year deal. With a desire to improve offensive production in the outfield, adding Mullins made a lot of sense, but he has looked more like the Mets version of himself than the Baltimore version, and that is a concern. 

Fortunately, the offense as a whole for the team has performed well for the Rays, and the slow start by Mullins hasn’t had too much of a negative impact on the lineup. However, with one of their top prospects in the minors being center fielder Jacob Melton, Mullins’ seat could be getting a bit warm. With production from center field being a glaring weakness for the team, a change could certainly happen soon.