A longtime fixture of the Orioles is heading to the Big Apple.

The Orioles are trading center fielder Cedric Mullins to the New York Mets, two sources confirmed, as MLB.com first reported.

It’s part of a flurry of moves that the Orioles have made in the final hours before Thursday’s MLB trade deadline, with the team also trading Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano to the Padres, Andrew Kittredge to the Cubs, Seranthony Domínguez to the Blue Jays, Gregory Soto to the Mets and Ramón Urías to the Astros.

Baltimore drafted Mullins in the 13th round out of Campbell University in 2015, and he debuted in 2018 when the Orioles, much like this season, were selling off players. It was a passing of the torch: Mullins took over for Adam Jones, who had manned center field for the previous decade but was not going to be re-signed after that season.

By 2020, Mullins had become a regular in the outfield. The highlight of his time as an Orioles player was 2021, when he finished with 30 home runs and 30 steals, the first and only player in team history to reach that milestone. Although his hitting has dropped off since that career season, he has been a steady defender.

“He’s been unbelievable out there,” starter Dean Kremer said Wednesday. “There’s not a play that he takes off; there’s not a ball that he thinks he can’t catch. So having him back there — he’s one of the best center fielders in the big leagues. It’s a big comfort for us, because we know that, if a ball is potentially down, it may not be. He’s one of the best center fielders in the game right now."

This season, Mullins is hitting .229 with a .738 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Much of his offensive success came early. He finished April with a .927 OPS.

Mullins capped his time in Baltimore with three epic catches in five games. He made a diving grab in the left-center gap and two home run robberies. He also went 9-for-20 with two home runs.

It felt a fitting encapsulation of what Mullins brought each day.

“His defense is incredible,” O’Hearn said Wednesday. “Today was kind of patented Cedric with robbing the homer. He makes it look so easy, man. The best at that, specifically, and center fielder I’ve ever played with by far.”

The return is three minor league pitchers, according to MLB.com. They are right-handers Raimon Gomez, Anthony Nunez and Chandler Marsh.

Gomez and Marsh are pitching in Single-A; Nunez has reached Double-A. Nunez ranked as the Mets’ No. 14 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. Gomez ranked 30th.

Nunez is an interesting prospect. He used to be a position player before transitioning to pitching, and MLB Pipeline considers his slider to be his best offering. Nunez was drafted by the Padres in 2019 out of high school as an infielder, playing two seasons before he went to the University of Tampa, a Division II school. The Mets signed him as a free agent last summer.

And Gomez stands out for his velocity. He threw a 104.5 mph fastball, the fastest recorded pitch by Statcast by a major or minor league pitcher this season, according to MLB.com. Control will be a factor for him, but the Orioles have a track record of fixing that, as they did with closer Félix Bautista.

The loss of Mullins opens a gap in center field for the rest of this season and into the future. Most likely, Colton Cowser will shift from left field to center predominantly, and Dylan Carlson can also feature in center. Dylan Beavers, who is hitting .304 in Triple-A, is not a center field candidate but can play the corners and should be nearing a call-up.

Next season, Baltimore can either rely on Cowser or seek an outside acquisition; the center field prospects in the system, including Enrique Bradfield Jr., are not seen as immediate contributors, especially considering Bradfield has missed nearly half of this season with injuries.

By moving Mullins, an outfield core of Anthony Santander, Austin Hays and Mullins is no more. Hays was dealt last year to the Philadelphia Phillies. Santander joined the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent last offseason.