Role
Adley Rutschman came over from Baltimore on Aug. 3 with Jake Rogers in the deadline deal that sent Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar, Carlos Narváez, Anthony Eyanson and a player to be named to the Orioles. He arrived on the injured list with left wrist inflammation, came off it Aug. 11, and started 28 of his 32 Boston games at catcher. In 2027 he is the No. 1 catcher.
Outlook
His 2026 started like the old Rutschman: .291/.339/.553 with 6 homers through May 14, good enough for his third All-Star team. After that he hit .222/.305/.375 the rest of the way, with an ankle, a concussion and the wrist all costing him time. For Boston he hit .222/.278/.410 in 126 plate appearances. The plate skills held up. Baseball Savant had his strikeout rate in the 78th percentile and his whiff rate in the 89th, and he graded at about +6 framing runs on the year. He is under arbitration control through 2027 (per MLB Trade Rumors).
Our take: the bat looks like a health problem more than a skill problem, and the plate discipline numbers back that up. A full winter off should get him back to the .760 range. Boston gave up four prospects and Carlos Narváez for him, so they will want to know by next fall whether to extend him.