The moment that Samuel Basallo was promoted to the Baltimore Orioles' major league roster, fans already dreaded the worst for Adley Rutschman. Once considered one of the best catchers in the league, Rutchsman struggled with injuries recently. That, combined with a dip in his form, had fans worried that the star might be traded soon.
With Basallo getting a team-friendly contract extension recently, it seems more and more likely that Rutschman is on his way out. Bob Nightengale reports that it's more than likely that the catcher will don a new jersey next season after the recent events.
“There will be no bigger position player on the trade block this winter than Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman,” Nightengale reports. “Rutschman became expendable once the Orioles signed 21-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo to a team-friendly eight-year, $67 million contract that won’t pay him more than $1 million annually until 2029. ”
There's still an avenue for Rutschman to stay with the Orioles: Nightengale notes that the older catcher could make a move towards first base or as a part-time catcher. Still, Rutschman has good enough trade value that the Orioles could just shop the catcher to a willing team.
This season, Rutschman is hitting at a .227 clip with a slightly below-average OPS of .684. His performance behind the plate has lagged a bit as well: StatCast's metrics show that most of his catching stats has gotten lower since his stellar rookie season. Rutschman's value was his ability to be an elite hitter while being one of the best defensive catchers in the league. Now that he's struggling on both ends, the catcher needs to reinvent himself.
His potential replacement, Basallo, has been one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the MLB. He's played in six games so far this season in the majors. Considering the extension given to the catcher, the front office quite clearly believes in the rookie to perform.
