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The Boston Red Sox are acquiring Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles as Boston looks for an offensive boost from the catcher position.
The Red Sox are sending a major haul to the Orioles for Rutschman, catcher Jake Rogers and cash considerations. In return, Baltimore will get catcher Carlos Narváez and top two pitching prospects, Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, along with High-A center fielder Enddy Azocar and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Rutschman, 28, is hitting .251 with a .764 OPS and eight homers, his best season since 2023. Once healthy, he should add thump to the Red Sox lineup. He pulls the ball in the air at a 19 percent rate, suggesting he’s well-suited to using the left-field wall at Fenway Park to his advantage.
He’ll be an instant upgrade to Boston’s backstop contingent, which had a combined .219 average, a .615 OPS and just four homers, the fewest in the majors.
With a 31-8 record since mid-June, the Red Sox have climbed to second in the American League wild-card race and are gunning for the playoffs after a brutal start to the year, which saw them fire manager Alex Cora after losing 17 of their first 27 games.
The addition of Rutschman comes more than a week after the Red Sox added infielder Curtis Mead in a trade with the Washington Nationals. The plan was for Mead to punch up the Red Sox’s lineup, but he was hit by a pitch in his first game with Boston. He’s expected to be out until at least mid-September while he recovers from a broken wrist.
Rutschman should eventually help to fill the void. After making back-to-back All-Star teams in 2023 and 2024, his offensive numbers dipped below league average for the first time in 2025, but he’s rebounding this year to rank in the top five among catchers in fWAR, though assorted injuries, including a concussion, have limited his plate appearances.
He’s a switch hitter with some power and minimal strikeouts. He gets on base a lot and, since his big-league debut in 2022, ranks in the top 10 among qualified catchers in wRC+ and OPS.
The top pick in the 2019 amateur draft, Rutschman has largely lived up to his billing as a frontline catcher. He’s made three All-Star teams in five years, including this season. His defensive metrics have fluctuated a bit, but he generally receives good marks behind the plate, and he’s been excellent this season at framing and throwing out base runners.
Rutschman has been a centerpiece of the Orioles lineup for five years, but he’s approaching his final round of arbitration eligibility and will become a free agent after next season. With another young, touted catcher (Samuel Basallo) on their MLB roster, the Orioles elected to trade Rutschman before that final season of team control.
Eyanson, the No. 47 prospect in baseball per The Athletic’s Keith Law, is the prize of the deal for the Orioles, having rocketed through the Red Sox’s system since being drafted in the third round in 2025. The 21-year-old began the year at High A before a May promotion to Double A, where he posted a 1.69 ERA in 11 games, including 10 starts.
Witherspoon, 21, Boston’s first-round pick in 2025, has had an up-and-down start to the season at High A with a 4.78 ERA in 17 starts. He had been the No. 62 prospect in Law’s preseason rankings.
Eyanson and Witherspoon were the latest examples of Boston’s revamped pitching infrastructure at work, a development system that saw Payton Tolle and Connelly Early jump to the majors last season and become mainstays of the rotation this year.
Azocar, 19, is hitting .286 with an .880 OPS in 85 games between Low A and High A.
Narváez, 27, was Boston’s starting catcher last season after they acquired him from the New York Yankees at the 2024 Winter Meetings. Narváez was well-liked in the clubhouse and a strong presence for the pitching staff, but his offense fell off this season to the point where he was hitting just .187 with a .535 OPS. Narváez shared playing time with catcher Connor Wong, but the two combined for a .219 average with a .615 OPS and just four homers, the fewest by any team in the majors, forcing the Red Sox to look for an upgrade.
Giving up four players plus a player to be named later for one guaranteed year of control of Rutschman is a steep price, but the Red Sox clearly valued his offense, clubhouse leadership and defensive skill set.
The Orioles had acquired Rogers, 31, in a trade with Detroit last week in exchange for minor-leaguer Zane Barnhart. It’s likely he will be catching depth for the Red Sox. He was hitting .163 with a .566 OPS in 39 games.
Rutschman has been on the injured list since July 18 with left wrist inflammation but is expected back soon. The Red Sox were clearly convinced that he’ll join them in short order. It also seems likely the Red Sox will try to sign Rutschman to an extension given the group they gave up for him
