The Baltimore Orioles are in a tough spot with the trade deadline on July 31. The team has severely underperformed, but after firing manager Brandon Hyde, the club is 25-21.
Overall, the Orioles sport a 40-49 record and sit dead-last in the American League East and seven-and-a-half games back from the third AL Wild Card spot.
Baltimore has a very talented young core, but that core hasn’t taken the strides everyone thought they would.
It starts with two-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman.
Rutschman, 27, was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 by the Orioles. He had gotten better and better each season, but this season hasn’t been one to remember thus far.
Rutschman has eight home runs and 20 RBI while slashing just .227/.319/.372 in 68 games. He is currently on the injured list with a strained left oblique.
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Christopher Kline of FanSided suggests that the Orioles should weigh the pros and cons of trading Rutschman at the trade deadline.
“While elite catchers are one of baseball’s rarest commodities, Rutschman’s production has been on a steady decline since his breakthrough rookie campaign,” wrote Kline. “The O’s aren’t under pressure to trade him necessarily, but the more years on a player’s contract, the higher his value — especially when he’s young and underpaid relative to his actual abilities, like Rutschman.”
Rutschman is under team control through 2027, so it would take a lot for Baltimore to part ways with one of their best players.
However, with catcher Samuel Basallo (Orioles No. 1, MLB No. 11) waiting in the wings, a trade could be more likely than people think.
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