Orioles may cut ties with Adley Rutschman in favor of superstar prospect

Adley Rutschman was meant to be the face of the Baltimore Orioles.

But the switch-hitting catcher hasn't quite developed into a consistent superstar.

And in this lost season in Baltimore, some are starting to wonder whether Rutschman's future is in a uniform other than the Orioles.

MLB Trade Rumors' Orioles writer Darragh McDonald released a long breakdown on Monday explaining why a Rutschman trade could be in the cards down the road.

A lot of the chatter stems from the presence of catching prospect Samuel Basallo, a consensus top-10 in all of baseball level of prospect.

Basallo has made it to Triple-A this year, where he's hit with a 148 wRC+ (48 percent better than league average). He has 13 homers in just 39 games.

The stud prospect won't turn 21 years old until August.

MORE: Tigers' Jahmai Jones pays tribute to late father with magical home run in Detroit

Rutschman was the first overall pick in 2019, but he hasn't been the same since a foul tip off his right hand midway through the 2024 season.

Here's some of what McDonald wrote on the situation:

 If the O’s wanted to open the catcher position for Basallo, there might be some temptation to consider trading Rutschman.

Doing so this summer is not likely. Trading catchers midseason can be difficult because the backstop would have to learn an entirely new pitching staff on the fly. There’s also the fact that Rutschman’s value is likely down, on account of last year’s struggles and this year’s slow start. As referenced earlier, better days may be ahead, so waiting may be the smart play. With Basallo still a work in progress, there shouldn’t be short-term urgency to get a deal done.

But over the next few years, it’s possible that the pressure builds. Basallo coming up to the majors this year is totally viable, especially if the O’s sell off some pieces at the deadline and open up playing time. If he can hit big league pitching and continues maturing defensively, his viability as a major league catcher will grow. All the while, Rutschman’s window of control will be narrowing. As mentioned, he’s now about two and a half seasons from the open market. He’s making $5.5MM this year and will be due two more raises in arbitration.

As the window of control shrinks and his salary grows, his trade value will drop. That’s a tricky balance the O’s will have to consider. They have long had a big collection of position player talent but have struggled to have enough starting pitching. They have increased spending a bit in the past year but still haven’t made massive investments in the rotation, which has contributed to their unraveling this year.

Trading Rutschman and handing the catching duties to Basallo would certainly be a massive risk right now. But over time, perhaps it starts to look less risky, depending on how Basallo dives into the major league waters.

In some ways, it's a good problem for Baltimore to have. They can keep an established catcher around, or they can hand the reins to another potential star.

On the other hand, it's complicated. Catcher is a tough position with lots of different roles. They know what they have in Rutschman, and moving off of him for Basallo wouldn't be a sure thing.

Maybe they first have them share time to see how it all fits together before making any drastic decisions.

But it seems at least possible that the end of the Rutschman era in Baltimore is coming earlier than anyone would've hoped.

MORE MLB NEWS:

• Athletics' Jacob Wilson is having the best MLB rookie season since Ichiro
• Everything you need to know about Roman Anthony
• Paul Skenes makes miserable MLB history that explains trade rumors
• Max Muncy's glasses saved his career
• Cubs star ejected for telling umpire "You're having a really bad day so far"
• Yankees star makes error while doing live ESPN broadcast