Mets find a center fielder in trade with Orioles for Cedric Mullins

NEW YORK (AP) — Turning their attention to offense, the New York Mets acquired center fielder Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles for three minor league pitchers before the Major League Baseball trade deadline Thursday.

The last-place Orioles received right-handers Raimon Gómez, Anthony Nunez and Chandler Marsh.

The speedy Mullins gives the Mets an all-around upgrade in center, where Tyrone Taylor was playing terrific defense but providing little offense. Versatile veteran Jeff McNeil has also been getting starts in center because of his bat, but he has much more experience at second base and the corner outfield spots.

The 30-year-old Mullins, an All-Star in 2021, can become a free agent this fall. He's batting .229 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and a .738 OPS in 91 games this season — but his numbers have picked up dramatically of late.

A patient left-handed hitter, he batted .290 with three homers, seven doubles and an .868 OPS in July.

“We like the player. We like what he brings on both sides of the ball,” Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said. “We think he's going to fit in very well to how we run the bases, how we want to play defense in center field, and so, excited to bring him on the team.”

It was the second trade in seven days between the Orioles and Mets, who obtained left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from Baltimore for a pair of minor league pitchers last Friday.

New York went all-in on a bullpen makeover Wednesday, landing All-Star reliever Ryan Helsley from St. Louis and right-hander Tyler Rogers from San Francisco in separate deals that cost the Mets six players.

“The more guys you can add back there that you have confidence in, I think the better. And hopefully now we've got quite a few that can get big outs for us in big spots,” Stearns said.

Helsley, Rogers and Soto also are eligible for free agency after this season.

“As we evaluated the market, the players available and what teams were looking for in return for those players, these were the deals that we thought made the most sense for us," Stearns said. “We were certainly open and engaged on players who provided multiple years of control. But at the end of the day, these were the ones that we thought made the most sense for our team, for our organization, and really happy with the players we were able to bring in.”

To clear roster space for newcomers, the Mets transferred designated hitter Jesse Winker to the 60-day injured list and optioned reliever Chris Devenski to Triple-A Syracuse.

New York leads the NL East by a half-game over rival Philadelphia.

Mullins is in his eighth big league season, all with the Orioles. His 30-30 campaign in 2021 was a bright spot during a terrible season in Baltimore, and he remained a factor as the Orioles became a playoff team in 2023 and 2024.

Now, with the Orioles struggling, he was one of several players they dealt leading up to the deadline.

Most of the minor leaguers the Orioles acquired over the past few days are pitchers. Baltimore hasn't developed arms as successfully as position players recently.

The hard-throwing Gómez, 23, is 5-5 with a 4.63 ERA and two saves in 24 relief appearances and three starts at High-A Brooklyn and Class-A St. Lucie this season. He threw a 104.5 mph pitch on April 26, the fastest in any ballpark equipped with Statcast technology this year, and he's topped 103.4 mph eight times.

He was rated the No. 30 prospect in the Mets' system by MLB.com.

Nunez, 24, is 2-1 with a 1.58 ERA and five saves in 32 outings between Double-A Binghamton and High-A Brooklyn. He has 60 strikeouts and 17 walks in 40 innings.

He was rated the No. 14 prospect in the Mets' system by MLB.com.

Marsh, 22, is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA and three saves in 33 appearances at High-A Brooklyn and Class A St. Lucie combined.

“Look, we believe we traded a number of players who are going to play on TV," Stearns said, "and I hope they do.”

AP Baseball Writer Noah Trister in Baltimore contributed to this report.

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Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins jumps to catch a fly ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes for the out during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) catches a fly ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Ali Sanchez for the out during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins hits a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

ATLANTA (AP) — Three inmates who escaped from a jail east of Atlanta, including a murder suspect, commandeered a terrified Lyft driver's car to reach south Florida before she was rescued and they were captured, according to details revealed in court records.

The driver told FBI agents that the men used a fake name to order the ride, put a rope around her neck from behind her, dragged her into the backseat and threatened to kill her, according to a court affidavit filed late Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press.

The inmates were able to “compromise” a portion of a cell inside the DeKalb County Jail to make their escape, said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins. He didn't provide more specifics because jailers don't want other inmates to know the facility's weaknesses.

“We repaired the area that was compromised, and we’re looking at other areas that are similar to that to fortify them to make sure that they are not compromised in the same manner,” Atkins said at a Tuesday news conference.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox described the jail as an “aging facility that’s deteriorating right before our eyes.” The jail is in Decatur, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta.

The escape was discovered early Monday during a routine security check, authorities said. After jailers realized the three were gone, investigators listened to recordings of conversations they'd had on recorded phone lines. They learned that one of the inmates had contacted people on the outside who helped them evade capture after the escape, U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown said.

The inmates were picked up by an unnamed man and taken to one of their girlfriends’ homes, Brown said. Then, a Lyft ride was ordered using a fake, female name.

Officers tracked the car as it traveled to south Florida with the aid of license plate readers, devices that can alert law enforcement to the locations of wanted vehicles. When they caught up with the car and tried to stop it, one of the inmates jumped out and ran but was arrested along with a second inmate, according to a court affidavit.

Investigators also learned that the men used the Lyft driver's credit card for a short-term rental of a home in Miramar, Florida, where officers apprehended the third inmate and rescued the driver, court records state.

The driver told investigators that she was held in the car for six to 10 hours as they tried to gain access to her phone and online banking records. After trying to escape once, she endured “increased threats of being shot, raped, and tortured,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.

“As you can imagine, the Lyft driver is very traumatized by this,” Brown said.

All three inmates were charged with kidnapping as well as the escape, according to criminal complaints.

A lawyer with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Fort Lauderdale appointed to represent one of the men, 24-year-old Stevenson Charles, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday evening, nor did a Miami attorney representing a second, Naod Yohannes, 25. There was no lawyer listed in court records for the third, Yusuf Minor, 31.

Charles was being held before the escape on charges including murder and armed robbery. The other two faced charges including armed robbery and arson.

The sheriff’s office had warned that the men might be armed and were considered dangerous after their escape.

Before they were captured, federal authorities had issued particularly strong warnings advising the citizens to be wary of Charles, who has had several run-ins with law officers in Georgia and Florida. He had been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of kidnapping and bank robbery, a federal agent wrote in a Monday affidavit regarding the recent jail escape.

After being sentenced, the agent wrote, Charles was turned over to DeKalb County authorities on Dec. 5 to face the murder charge, details of which were not immediately available.

In one of multiple cases involving Charles in South Florida, he is accused of meeting a man through the Grindr online dating application and then pulling a gun on him when they met in person at a Miami residence in 2022. Charles then drove the man to various Miami area banks, withdrawing money from the victim’s accounts, court records show.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a press conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)