Tampa Bay Rays Should Be Concerned About Struggles of Key Offseason Signing

Which free agent signing has yet to work out for the Tampa Bay Rays?

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

With 24 games in the books for the Tampa Bay Rays, the team should be pleased with how things have gone so far, with a 13-11 record. 

Even though there have been some ups and downs for the team so far, the Rays are over the .500 mark and very much an early contender in the American League East. Tampa Bay had a bit of an interesting offseason and made a plethora of moves both to improve the team this season and for the future as well. 

After a terrible performance by most of their outfield in 2025, it was a main goal for the team to improve that area this offseason, and they made multiple moves in order to try and do so. In free agency, they added Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins. Furthermore, in the trade that sent Brandon Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates, they got back a talented prospect in Jacob Melton. 

Even though Melton was given some opportunities this spring, the Rays went with their free agent signings, along with Chandler Simpson, as the starters. So far, Simpson is having an early breakout season for the team, but Mullins has not lived up to expectations. 

Mullins Hasn’t Got It Going Yet

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

After a terrible second half of the season with the New York Mets, Mullins didn’t have quite the offseason that he was likely hoping for. The former All-Star for the Baltimore Orioles played some great baseball over the course of his career with the Orioles, but he really struggled following the trade. 

Those struggles resulted in him getting just a one-year deal with Tampa Bay to prove himself, and so far, he hasn’t been able to do so. This season, he has slashed .156/.205/.286 with two home runs and eight RBI. The numbers so far are not great for the veteran outfielder, but luckily, those struggles haven’t hurt the team too much. 

However, considering he was brought in to be an offensive spark, he has yet to be able to accomplish that. While it hasn’t been a massive sample size, the Rays have to be concerned that the numbers look more like what he did with the Mets rather than what he accomplished over the course of his career with the Orioles. 

As he continues to get acclimated to his new team, hopefully, production will increase. However, if it doesn’t, Tampa Bay likely won’t hesitate to try someone else.