Adley Rutschman has been a hot name for the Philadelphia Phillies over the past few months, with many suggesting that the Baltimore Orioles could look to move on from him. It remains uncertain what any deal for Rutschman would look like, as when he was at his best earlier in his career, there was a strong argument to be made that he was already the best catcher in baseball.
Making his big league debut in the 2022 season at just 24 years old, he showed some very impressive signs early, making the All-Star Game in his second and third seasons.
While he's fallen off a bit recently, it's also important to remember that the Phillies might lose J.T. Realmuto, and if it happens, they'll definitely need a replacement.
Rutschman would be just that, and it was recently proposed by Matt Davis to go out and trade for him.
“Even though the Baltimore Orioles have said that Adley Rutschman isn't on the trade block, the rumors have continued to persist into the offseason. Rutschman will be 28 years old next season and is also under team control through 2027.
“Rutschman was an MVP candidate earlier in his career but has struggled recently, especially this season when he hit .220 with a .673 OPS, only playing 90 games thanks to injuries. With that in mind, Rutschman would still be an exciting trade if he's able to return to his MVP numbers from just a couple of years ago. He still ranked 14th in catcher framing runs, while Realmuto ranked 55th out of 57 catchers,” he wrote.
The worries about Rutschman are fair in a sense, but there are a lot of other factors that have to be considered.
For one, when he's been at his best, the Phillies would be getting the top catcher in the game, who is still just 27 years old. Rutschman is arbitration-eligible this year again for the second time, but he isn't set to hit the free agency market until 2028. The Phillies would have multiple years of him with control at a low price.
It's fair to wonder how much he can get one day if he ends up figuring things out just like he did a few years ago, but when that time comes, that time comes. The Phillies can't be worried about that right now.