The Red Sox made plenty of noise at the MLB trade deadline, but the move that was supposed to fix one of their biggest issues has not delivered the way Boston hoped.
Adley Rutschman arrived from the Baltimore Orioles as the headliner, a three-time All-Star catcher with real pop and dependable defense. On paper, it looked like the kind of addition that could settle the position in a hurry. A few weeks later, after his return from injury, the results have left the Red Sox with the same old question behind the plate.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report put it bluntly, calling catcher a “red flag” for Boston and writing, “Boston Red Sox: Catcher Spot is Still Broken,” Miller writes. “Speaking of Rutschman, he hasn't been the answer at catcher that Boston was hoping for.”
That’s the heart of the problem. Boston brought in Rutschman to move on from Carlos Narvaez, who was already struggling badly.
In 62 games with the Red Sox, Narvaez hit .187 with a .535 OPS and posted -0.5 bWAR. Since going to the Orioles, his numbers have fallen even further, with -0.5 bWAR, a .293 OPS and a 0.95 average in 16 games.
Rutschman has been better than Narvaez since the trade, but not by enough to make the position feel solved. In 12 games with Boston, he has a -0.1 bWAR, a .146 batting average and a .499 OPS.
For now, the Red Sox still need Rutschman to find his offense. If he doesn’t, this summer’s blockbuster could wind up looking a lot less like a fix and a lot more like a mistake.
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