08/04/26 02:57:00
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08/04 14:55 CDT Trading Rutschman could help the Orioles, but it's a sign of
how badly their plans went awry
Trading Rutschman could help the Orioles, but it's a sign of how badly their
plans went awry
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer
Seven years after drafting Adley Rutschman with the top overall pick, Orioles
president Mike Elias traded the All-Star catcher to division rival Boston on
Monday. In the interim, Baltimore managed one division title and one wild card
before falling under .500.
So Elias was asked point blank why fans should believe he's the man to guide
the team to future success.
"While the last couple of years have really felt like a step back, and have
been a step back from where this team was in 2023 and 2024, we have so many
good players in this organization," he said. "We have so many things going for
us in this organization in terms of the strength and the infrastructure, the
business side of the operation, the ownership, the facilities. We now have a
top farm system, and we have a great roster with a lot of really good players
that are signed up for many years. And we have a lot of things going for us
right now."
Monday's trade may work out for the Orioles in the long run. They acquired
three of Boston's top five prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Fans generally
understand the logic of dealing a player who might become a free agent in the
next year or two. But what makes this trade harder to stomach is the year and a
half of failure that led up to it.
In 2023, the Orioles won 101 games. Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson
were franchise cornerstones, and there were several more top prospects on the
way. Even then, there were concerns Baltimore would have a hard time keeping
those two stars --- but the assumption was there would be a lot more winning
before days like Monday. Instead, the Orioles are in danger of missing the
playoffs for a second straight season.
"The last couple seasons have not gone to plan. There have been shortcomings,
and ultimately those are my responsibility," Elias said. "But this is a very
hard game, we cannot succeed all the time, and we must keep going when things
aren't going our way."
Elias did not sound Monday like a man whose job was in jeopardy. The Orioles
were 54-58 but just 2 1/2 games out of the last wild card in the American
League. If Elias felt he needed to produce a playoff team this year, he could
have kept Rutschman and even added help.
There were reasons to trade him, though. Baltimore has catcher Samuel Basallo,
who is signed long term and is seven years younger than Rutschman. This type of
deal --- using a surplus at a key position to acquire help elsewhere --- is
something the Orioles could perhaps have used more of a few years ago, when
they had a wealth of hitting in the majors and minors but needed pitching.
Baltimore acquired just one major leaguer --- catcher Carlos Narvez --- for
Rutschman. Once again, the Orioles have to sell their fans on minor league
prospects. The last collection of young talent hasn't totally delivered on its
promise. Rutschman had a down year in 2025, and Henderson is having one this
year. Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo have all had struggles at
the plate. Pitcher Grayson Rodriguez couldn't stay healthy and was ultimately
traded for what turned out to be four months of outfielder Taylor Ward. (Ward,
a pending free agent, was also dealt away Monday.)
Baltimore hasn't won a pennant since 1983. The franchise that became famous for
the Oriole Way has been largely mediocre since then --- an issue that long
preceded Elias. When he arrived in November 2018, a rebuild was already
underway after the team lost 115 games that year.
"We had a lot of work to do around the org. We did it, and for a period of time
there --- we won a hundred games in 2023 --- we had a consensus farm system and
a core that looked like it was in a tremendous spot, in a really historically
strong spot," Elias said. "I think to some degree I personally, looking back,
got caught up in a narrative about a rebuild. Baseball's very humbling, and it
doesn't go linearly, and things shifted and changed, and we had a lot of bad
luck on the injury front. We had a lot of injuries, and we had regression and
things that changed course."
It's possible Baltimore's fortune will swing back in a positive direction. The
injury luck could improve, and maybe someone like Holliday grows into a star.
Or the next generation of prospects might have more staying power. Even so,
Elias will have to prove he's as good at buying as he seems to be at selling
--- and that acquiring all this young talent can lead to more than just a
fleeting two-year stretch as a contender.
"We're in a really good spot with the health of the org, the talent that's in
the org, the players, the system that we have," Elias said. "We need to get
better, we need to continue to adjust and evolve. Our competition is very, very
stiff, but I like where we're at. The way that we've gotten here has felt
different because of the last couple of years and how we've tapered down the
last couple years from where our record was in 2023 and 2024. But the future is
strong and I think it starts right now."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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