When the Red Sox went after Adley Rutschman at the trade deadline, the logic was easy to follow. The price was steep, but Boston was pushing hard in the middle of a stretch that had turned real contender into something even louder, and catcher was a glaring problem.
The deal came on Aug. 3, right in the heart of that run. Boston sent Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar, and Harold Rivas to the Orioles, a division rival, to get an All-Star catcher who was also headed for free agency after the 2027 season.
At the time, the Red Sox were trying to solve a clear problem behind the plate. Carlos Narvaez, Connor Wong, and Mickey Gasper (we thought) were not enough, and there wasn’t a better option available either in the system or on the market.
But the early returns have been rough.
Rutschman was already dealing with injury issues when Boston got him - he was on the IL with left wrist inflammation at the time of the trade, and later battled a right elbow injury for parts of August and September - and the health concerns help explain some of the uneven production. They don’t erase it.
In 32 games with the Red Sox, the Oregon native hit .222 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. Then came the Wild Card series against the New York Yankees, where he went 1-for-8 (.125) and struck out three times.
There were a few flashes, but he never really settled in at the plate. Maybe a full offseason in Boston changes the picture.
Maybe the timing and the injuries were too much to overcome in such a short sample. Still, for a player the Red Sox paid that much to acquire, the first look was underwhelming.
And that’s where this gets tricky for Boston. After giving up that kind of prospect package, the Red Sox almost have to keep moving forward with Rutschman, which means a possible long-term deal is hanging out there. The problem is that the next time he takes the field, he’ll be 29 - maybe 30, depending on what happens with the lockout - right in the middle of his peak.
There’s still a path where this works. There’s also a path where the Red Sox look back at this deadline move and see a mistake they couldn’t afford.
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Red Sox Still Have One Roster Flaw They Can't Keep Ignoring
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Andrew Goodman, Jarren Duran and prospects such as Franklin Arias are all part of the broader conversation as Boston weighs how aggressive it wants to be. Positional changes could also enter the mix, and there are at least some buy-low trade ideas floating around, including names like Adolis Garca and Juan Soto, which shows how wide the field could get before the Red Sox settle on a real answer to the imbalance in their lineup. [Read more 🡒]