TAMPA, Fla. — In the cramped visiting clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays, Orioles players huddled in their folding chairs listening to interim manager Tony Mansolino as he tried to motivate the team heading into the second half of the season.

In a few hours, they would face the Rays in their first game after the All-Star break. They all knew the stakes: Entering Friday’s game, they were nine games under .500, 7.5 games out of a playoff spot and 13 days away from a trade deadline that could alter the course of the season.

If they win a majority of their games until then, they might have a chance to convince general manager Mike Elias that he should not sell, that he should not give up on this team. If they don’t, the clubhouse could look drastically different in a few weeks and a season that was once filled with so much hope could be all but over before August.

So are they feeling the pressure?

“I think they’ve felt that pressure for two months,” Mansolino said after Friday’s loss.

In the corner as Mansolino spoke sat Cedric Mullins, who, more than most, could be impacted by how the team plays over the next two weeks. He’s the most tenured player on the team, debuting in 2018 as the Orioles entered a rebuild that was supposed to prevent seasons like this from happening. He’s watched countless teammates get traded, including his good friend Austin Hays, who was sent to the Phillies at last year’s deadline.

Mullins doesn’t want to be next.

He has not heard from anyone in the front office, he said, and has not been told if the Orioles plan to shop him. He’s taking that uncertainty one day at a time.

“I want to stay,” Mullins said. “It’s one of those things where you try to make a case, it’s really what these next couple of weeks are for. Go out there, control what you can control, whatever happens after that is what it is.”

But, by making a case, Mullins could also make himself more attractive to potential buyers. His numbers are mixed — he’s hitting .215 but is on track for a 20-20 season. Mullins is in his final year before free agency and could be an easily obtainable short-term rental for a contender looking for a center fielder, even if defensive metrics aren’t in his favor this year.

“That’s true,” he noted. “We know what we are trying to play for, but at the end of the day there is still an opening there.”

It’s not just Mullins whose time with the Orioles might be ending soon. Ryan O’Hearn knows he’s in the mix, so much so that the All-Star asked his family not to send him any speculation about trade rumors. Seranthoy Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Charlie Morton are impending free agents who could be potential trade chips.

The market has already picked up — Bryan Baker, who was in the midst of his best season, was traded to the Rays last week for the 37th overall draft pick, which the Orioles used to select high school outfielder Slater de Brun. Elias called the move a “step” toward selling.

As Mansolino spoke to the players Friday, he encouraged them to clear their minds of the deadline, Mullins said. Mansolino added, Coby Mayo said, not to go into the second half with a negative attitude and to see what they can accomplish in the next few weeks.

Mansolino reminded them, too, that even if Elias sells players, it doesn’t mean they are out of it. He brought up the 2024 Tigers — a frequent reference in the Orioles’ clubhouse — as an example of a team that sold off top assets, including starter Jack Flaherty, who had a 2.95 ERA at the time, and still made the playoffs.

The Orioles experienced that Tigers turnaround firsthand last year, running into Detroit six times in the final month of the season as it raced to a wild-card spot.

The Orioles think they can do the same this year.

“I think there’s a lot of talented players here,” Mayo said. “Whatever the front office decides to do, you still have two months after the deadline to win games and that’s exactly what Detroit did last year. They went on a bunch of runs and found themselves in a wild card. ... Baseball is a game of runs and it’s kind of like who gets hot at the right time, so you never know.”

But the 2024 Tigers had a major advantage that this Orioles team does not: quality starting pitching. Although the Tigers traded Flaherty, they were still led by Tarik Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young Award and finished seventh in MVP voting. He pitched to a 2.37 ERA after the break while averaging 6 1/3 innings a game.

The Orioles have only one starter with an ERA under 4.00, and that’s Trevor Rogers, who has made only six starts.

The Tigers were also in a better position — they were 47-50 at the All-Star break, compared to the Orioles’ 43-52. In the first game after the break, the Orioles’ didn’t look any more inspired than they were before the meeting. The Rays beat them 11-1.

So is it possible for the Orioles to be this season’s Tigers and for the team to give Elias enough hope that he doesn’t feel the need to trade players like Mullins?

The clock is ticking. Quickly.