The Boston Red Sox are reportedly acquiring catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles. Section 10's Jared Carrabis was first to report on the trade. ESPN's Jeff Passan later confirmed the deal has been finalized.
The Red Sox are reportedly sending a haul to the Orioles in return. According to The Baltimore Sun's Jacob Calvin Meyer, it's pitching prospects Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, outfield prospect Enddy Azocar, and catcher Carlos Narvaez.
BREAKING NEWS: 🚨 The Boston Red Sox are trading for 3x All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles according to @Jared_Carrabis pic.twitter.com/Y8tMiq5fwL
— WEEI (@WEEI) August 3, 2026
Rutschman, a 28-year-old switch hitter, is hitting .251 with eight home runs, 47 RBIs and a .764 OPS in 67 games this season. He grades out as a very good defensive catcher, with his plus-9 Fielding Run Value ranking third among all catchers behind only Toronto's Brandon Valenzuela and Detroit's Dillon Dingler. He was an All-Star for a third time this season.
Rutschman has missed time with three different injuries this season and is currently on the injured list with left wrist inflammation. He is expected to return soon, though.
Rutschman was the first overall pick back in 2019 and was the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball at one point. His best season came in 2023, when he hit .277 with 20 homers, 80 RBIs, an .809 OPS and 4.3 WAR. He finished ninth in AL MVP voting that year. For his career, he has hit righties and lefties about equally well, with a .746 OPS against righties and .783 vs. lefties.
Rutschman is arbitration-eligible after this season, so he comes with one more year of team control.
Catcher was an area where the Red Sox clearly could use an upgrade, as they entered Monday ranked 25th in MLB in catcher OPS (.615), 30th in home runs (4) and 29th in RBIs (28), with the majority of that coming from the combination of Narvaez and Connor Wong. Narvaez has at least graded out well in Fielding Run Value (+5), while Wong's minus-6 is fourth-worst among qualified catchers.
Of course, Narvaez and Wong had jelled with a Red Sox pitching staff that has the third-best ERA in baseball (3.53). That had to be a consideration when it comes to shaking up the position, but Rutschman - as long as he's actually going to be healthy - should represent enough of an upgrade to outweigh any such concerns.
As for the prospects going to Baltimore, Eyanson and Witherspoon were Boston's top two pitching prospects, and Azocar was a top-10 prospect in the system as well. Notably, the Red Sox did not have to part with their No. 1 prospect, shortstop Franklin Arias.
