Adley Rutschman is finally about to give the Red Sox a boost behind the plate, but his return comes with a roster squeeze Boston has to solve before the August 11 game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Rutschman will be activated from the 10-day injured list after missing time since July 19 with wrist inflammation. He got in a two-game rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox and came away with one hit, a double, along with two runs, two RBI, two walks and a strikeout. He also flashed the defensive skill that’s long been part of his game, throwing out a runner in one of his usual caught stealing plays.
For Boston, the bigger question now is who gets bumped. The club added Rutschman to the 40-man roster on trade deadline day, but there still has to be room on the active roster, and the catcher spot looks like the likeliest place to make it.
That’s because the Red Sox have already gotten mixed results from the group they’ve been running out there. Carlos Narváez, who went to the Baltimore Orioles in the deal for Rutschman, has taken a clear step back offensively this season, hitting .187/.260/.275 over 62 games with Boston. Connor Wong has been better with the bat at .247/.333/.367 over 60 games, but his defense has been a problem, with -4 DRS and -6 FRV.
Interim manager Chad Tracy doesn’t seem eager to carry three catchers, and that makes the decision feel pretty straightforward. Wong has one minor league option left, which gives Boston a clean way to create space without cutting bait entirely.
The alternative is more aggressive: designate Jake Rogers for assignment. Boston just acquired Rogers, and because he has no options left, a DFA would be the only way to keep Wong if the Red Sox don’t want to go with three catchers. Rogers has hit worse than Wong this year, with a slash line of .183/.290/.327, though he has been a little better defensively at -3 DRS and FRV.
Boston also has some infield juggling to manage with Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the injured list. Nick Sogard has been solid whenever the Red Sox have called him up, Andruw Monasterio is on a heater, Anthony Seigler is on a heater too, and Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin are indispensable. Even so, moving on from one of the three catchers still looks like the simplest path, especially with Wong holding an option.
There’s also a backup plan baked into the roster. Seigler came up as a catcher and has logged 1514.2 innings behind the plate across parts of eight minor league seasons. He’s out of practice, but he could handle the position in an emergency.
So the safer move is obvious: option Wong, keep depth intact, and preserve a better-hitting catcher in the system than Rogers. If Rogers struggles, or if he or Rutschman gets hurt, Boston can bring Wong right back without much trouble.
In Other News...
Orioles Just Learned The Full Price Of Bostons Adley Blockbuster
Adley Rutschmans first game in a Red Sox uniform gave Boston an immediate look at why the club was willing to make a serious move for him. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and handled catcher duties cleanly, a tidy debut that fit the idea of a roster upgrade designed to matter right away. The swap also finally got buttoned up behind the scenes, with the player to be named later piece of the deal now settled.
For Baltimore, the real sting is in what eventually crossed over to complete the trade. Boston sent over minor league outfielder Harold Rivas, an 18-year-old with enough status in the organization to make him more than just a throw-in. It is the kind of final accounting that can quietly shape how a blockbuster is remembered, especially when the first big league glimpse from the new catcher already looked so settled. [Read more 🡒]
Vaughn Grissom Just Made His Red Sox Exit More Personal
Vaughn Grissoms departure from Boston already looked like one of those moves that quietly lingered in the background, and now it feels a lot more personal. The infielder said the Red Sox front office never gave him a fair chance to play, arguing they leaned too heavily on analytics instead of what he was doing on the field. Since moving on, Grissom has settled in as a more regular starter with the Los Angeles Angels, where consistent playing time has given him a steadier role.
Grissom also believes he has gotten better simply by being on the field every day, and his season line reflects a player who has found some rhythm. He is hitting .254/.315/.392 with seven home runs and a 0.5 bWAR in 78 games, numbers that do not turn the story into a full redemption arc but do make the contrast with his Boston tenure harder to ignore. For the Red Sox, it is another reminder that player evaluation does not end when someone leaves town. [Read more 🡒]
Adley Rutschman Already Changed A Big Red Sox Question
Adley Rutschman wasted little time making his presence felt in Boston, stepping straight into the middle of the lineup and behind the plate after being acquired in a trade and activated from the injured list. In a 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays, he started at catcher and batted third, and even after more than three weeks away with wrist inflammation, there was little sign of rust as he settled into his new surroundings.
For the Red Sox, the early takeaway was bigger than one game in the standings. Rutschmans arrival immediately changes the look of a catching situation that was already under scrutiny, and the club plans to handle his workload carefully as he gets up to speed with a new pitching staff and a new dugout. The next question is less about whether he fits and more about how Boston chooses to use him in the first stretch of this new chapter. [Read more 🡒]