Red Sox trade for Adley Rutschman, acquire three-time All-Star catcher from Orioles

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LOS ANGELES — With Monday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline fast approaching, the Red Sox are finalizing a deal to land a three-time All-Star from a division rival — and paying a big price to do so.

Boston has agreed to acquire catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, marking a major step in Craig Breslow’s efforts to bolster the club’s offense for the stretch run. The Red Sox will send a hefty five-player package to Baltimore of catcher Carlos Narváez, pitching prospects Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, outfield prospect Enddy Azocar and a player to be named later. The Sox are also getting backup catcher Jake Rogers and cash in the swap. Contrary to some reports, outfield prospect Harold Rivas isn’t in the deal.

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The Red Sox, who have won 31 of their last 39 games and now possess the third-best record in the American League behind the Rays and Yankees, have been looking for upgrades at catcher and shortstop in recent days as well as searching for rotation and bullpen depth. Adding Rutschman provides clear upside behind the plate, where Narváez, Connor Wong (and for a spell, Mickey Gasper) have combined to post the sixth-worst OPS in the sport (.615) and the fewest home runs (4). The move — paired with last Saturday’s 1-for-1 swap that sent Connelly Early to Washington for Curtis Mead — is a clear sign Breslow believes in his group and believes the Sox can make a deep run. Mead’s bat will not be a factor in the coming weeks after he broke his wrist when he was hit by a pitch in his Red Sox debut.

In Rutschman, the Red Sox are getting a former No. 1 overall pick (2019) who had an up-and-down tenure in Baltimore, where he once appeared to be a franchise cornerstone. After a very strong three-year start to his big league career from 2022 to 2024, Rutschman took a step back last season and was limited, by injury, to 90 games. This year, he has taken a step forward again and was named an All-Star for the third time.

The 28-year-old has hit .251 with eight homers, 19 doubles, 47 RBIs and a .764 OPS in 67 games. He started 49 games behind the plate for the Orioles and another 16 at designated hitter before landing on the injured list with wrist inflammation in mid-July. Rutschman is currently on the injured list due to inflammation in his left wrist, but the Red Sox signed off on his medicals in order to finalize the deal. According to reports, the Orioles expected Rutschman back at some point in mid-August.

To obtain Rutschman, the Red Sox parted with Narváez, who entered as their starting catcher last year, and three top-10 organizational prospects. Eyanson is the headliner of the group as a fast-rising third-rounder from last year’s draft who has a 1.69 ERA and 48 innings at Double-A Portland and currently ranks as the No. 33 prospect in all of baseball, per Baseball America. Witherspoon, Boston’s first-rounder last year (at No. 15 overall) was ranked No. 97 on that list. Azocar, a 19-year-old at High-A Greenville, has an .880 OPS in 85 games across two levels this year. According to SoxProspects.com’s most recent rankings, Eyanson (No. 2), Kyson Witherspoon (No. 3) and Azocar (No. 6) are all top-10 prospects in Boston’s system.

The Red Sox conceded that package due to a belief Rutschman’s renaissance is real. Along with ranking among baseball’s best catchers in throwing out base-stealers and framing, the Oregon State product has posted an encouraging offensive profile in which he has hit the ball hard and not struck out much (just 14.1%) this season. After a poor 2025 in which he hit just .220 and had a .673 OPS for a disappointing Baltimore club, Rutschman came out of the gates hot and had a .908 OPS in his first 26 games. Since May 12, he has only hit .219 with three homers and 26 RBIs, though the wrist likely has something to do with that.

Rutschman, who is making $7.5 million in arbitration this season, is controlled through next season and a free agent after 2027. He has been on the injured list three times so far this season: from April 11-21 with left ankle inflammation, from June 20-28 with a concussion and since July 20 due to the wrist issue.

Rutschman is a switch-hitter who has hit better left-handed (.799 OPS) than right-handed (.705 OPS) this season. That has flipped from 2024, when he dominated hitting righty (.902 OPS) but struggled to a .631 OPS from the left side. For his career, Rutschman has been slightly better from the right side.

The Red Sox, in an unusual midseason move, reshaped the future of their catching position in one fell swoop. Just a year ago, Narváez — acquired in a December 2024 trade that sent pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez to the Yankees — looked to be Boston’s catcher of the future when he finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year race after a solid two-way season in which he hit .241 with 15 homers, 50 RBIs and a .726 OPS in 118 games. This year, his offense has taken a significant step back and he’s only hitting .187 with three homers, 10 RBIs and a .535 OPS in 197 plate appearances. He has started 56 games (with Wong starting 43).

For now behind the plate, Boston will move forward with Wong and Rogers, a longtime Tiger who was traded to Baltimore earlier this week, with Rutschman waiting to take over as the starter in the coming weeks. The expectation is that Wong will take the lion’s share of at-bats in the coming days. Rutschman will face a steep learning curve of getting to know an entirely new pitching staff in the coming days and weeks, though he has faced the Red Sox plenty as a member of the Orioles. In 28 career games at Fenway Park, he has hit .239 (27-for-113) with three homers and four doubles.

That five-player haul that the Red Sox sent to Baltimore has sent shockwaves around baseball, especially considering that there’s a chance of a labor-related lockout causing much — or in a worst-case scenario, all — of the 2027 season to be canceled. One evaluator from another organization said he was “absolutely dumbfounded” by the move and that it was “one of the most ridiculous trades (he) had seen in 30 years.”

Eyanson, 21, received a $1.75 million bonus as the 87th overall pick out of LSU last season and quickly passed fellow draftees Witherspoon and Marcus Phillips on prospect rankings with a dominant showing at High-A and Double-A, where he has struck out 94 batters in 68 ⅓ innings. Witherspoon’s up-and-down first professional season has included a 4.78 ERA in 17 starts at High-A Greenville but his pitch mix was worth the Sox giving him a $5 million bonus out of the University of Oklahoma last year. Azocar signed for just $40,000 out of Venezuela in January 2024 but has taken a significant step forward at the plate this season and has a good chance to stick in center.

The Red Sox are believed to still be looking at upgrades at shortstop as well as rotation and bullpen depth before 6 p.m.

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