SARASOTA, Fla. — Cedric Mullins understandably hasn’t thought much about it.

The 30-year-old is nowhere close to retirement. Neither are Austin Hays or Anthony Santander.

But he knows one day in the future, when he and Hays and Santander are old and gray, they’ll get together and “reminisce” about the good old days.

“It’s going to be a great time,” Mullins said with a smile.

Hays, Mullins and Santander didn’t just make up the Orioles’ starting outfield for about five seasons. They served as the connective tissue between the rebuild and the success that followed.

As young prospects made their debuts and only experienced winning, the outfield trio had the valuable perspective of what it’s like on the other side. The memories of the rebuild were sometimes so bad, they’re impossible to forget: Losing 108 games in 2019, going 1-18 against a division rival in one season and a 19-game losing streak in 2021.

“We became household names during the worst times,” Mullins said. “We made it past all the changes and made the team better. We’re still in contact with each other. The friendships we made are forever.”

Of course, they would’ve preferred not to have to experience the rebuild. But they all agree it made them stronger mentally, helping them deal with the injuries, slumps and other pitfalls along the way.

“Even through those times, we were still big league players. We took pride in that,” Mullins said. “I give credit to all three of us for hanging in there, finding a way to continue to be the best we can be, even through struggles.”

But this season, Mullins is the last true rebuild survivor left, and it’s a contract year before he hits free agency in November. Hays is with the Cincinnati Reds. Santander is with the Blue Jays. And Mullins, who joked that he’s now the “last man standing” from the rebuild, has two new outfieldmates on opening day.

“I think it’s awesome,” the center fielder said, noting he’ll always root for Hays and Santander. “It’s fun to be around these young guys, these exciting players. I still feel like I’m one of ‘em.”

While Mullins is the only player remaining from the 2019 team, the first of the Mike Elias-Brandon Hyde era, he isn’t the only one who went through the rebuild. Ryan Mountcastle, tied with Mullins as the longest-serving player in the organization as a 2015 draftee, debuted in 2020 and also suffered through the 2021 campaign. So did Ramón Urías, who was claimed off waivers in 2020, and Dean Kremer, who debuted in 2020 and posted a 7.55 ERA in 2021.

After three straight winning seasons, Mountcastle said that he hasn’t forgotten what it was like during the dark times.

“It makes you enjoy winning a little bit more,” Mountcastle said. “It was so few and far between early on. Even when you won back then it was fun because you weren’t expected to. Now that we are, it’s still fun, but it’s a little different. Just remember where we were a few years back when we weren’t very good, it makes it more fun to win.”

Mullins, a soft speaker, has grown into his role as one of the Orioles’ leaders over the past few years. He’s one of the most experienced position players on the team, and he enjoys when younger players ask him for advice.

Given what he’s gone through in his 10-year professional career, he doesn’t sugarcoat his answers.

“I can be honest because I’ve been through it all,” he said.

Mullins wasn’t a high draft pick, taken in the 13th round back in 2015. He was seen as Adam Jones’ heir, but he performed so poorly as a switch hitter in 2019 that he opened the season in the majors and ended it in Double-A.

He stopped switch hitting in 2021 and had one of the most magical seasons in Orioles history with the franchise’s first 30-homer, 30-steal campaign. He hasn’t been able to recapture that form the past three seasons as injuries and slumps at the plate have gotten in the way.

“He struggled that first year when he was trying to switch hit. I saw a guy that didn’t have a ton of confidence offensively,” Hyde said. “The leadership component that’s really come into zone here the last few years of taking charge in the outfield. Overall, there’s just way more confidence now, and now it’s really for him to stay healthy and keep his legs healthy so he’s able to be the player he is.”

Mountcastle called Mullins a “great friend, great person and great player.”

“For him to be where he’s at now, he’s established himself as a top-tier center fielder in this league,” Mountcastle said. “Everybody goes through their struggles. For him to get out of whatever ones he’s had, I’m sure these younger guys can learn from that.”

Mullins slumped so badly in the first half last season that a demotion to Triple-A seemed possible. Through June 8, he was hitting .170 with a .522 OPS amid a 1-for-30 stretch. From that point on, Mullins was one of the Orioles’ best hitters with a .276 average, an .831 OPS and 12 homers across 308 plate appearances while stealing 20 bases.

His role was diminished into a platoon, starting almost exclusively against right-handed starters, but it was the best Mullins had played since the first half of the 2023 campaign.

Mullins no longer yearns to be the 30-30 star he was in 2021, but Hyde knows that talent is still there.

“When I think of Cedric, that’s the type of player I think of: great defense, the ability to hit a homer, being active on the bases, being a threat, being a tough out,” Hyde said. “I thought that he was that second half last year, and I’m hoping he can carry that into this year.”

There’s no way to know how much longer Mullins will be in Baltimore. Hays was surprisingly traded at last year’s deadline, and Santander left this offseason for an AL East rival. The Orioles have several players in the organization who could profile to be Mullins’ replacement, whether that’s Colton Cowser moving over from left field or the center field prospects littered throughout the minor leagues.

Eight years ago, it was a different group of prospects who envisioned themselves standing in Camden Yards’ outfield together.

“We are the future of this team,” Mullins recalls Santander saying to he and Hays while they were in Double-A.

Now the Orioles have a new future, but Mullins is still a part of the present.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.