Orioles’ latest extension gives Guardians pathway to secure franchise catcher

Three years ago, it looked like Adley Rutschman was going to be a key part of the Orioles’ long-term core. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, Rutschman quickly rose to the top of most prospect charts before he made his long-awaited debut in May 2022.

And while his time with the Orioles has featured plenty of signature moments and two postseason berths, it looks like there’s a chance that the Rutschman era could come to an end soon in Baltimore, as the team inked catching prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year, $67 million extension on Friday. 

It’s a deal that could make Rutschman expendable, and perhaps most importantly to Guardians fans, means that he could be on the move in the offseason. 

Orioles’ latest extension gives Guardians pathway to secure franchise catcher

The Orioles giving Basallo such a big contract at this point in his career is nothing short of noteworthy. The 21-year-old made his major league debut less than a week ago, and now has secured the largest pre-arbitration contract ever for a catcher. 

Meanwhile, Rutschman has yet to sign an extension and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility (he and the Orioles settled on a $5.5 million deal this season to avoid arbitration last winter). 

While the presence of Basallo may be part of the reason for his lack of an extension, it could also be due to the fact that his production has tapered off a bit recently.

He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 when he hit .254 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI before arguably being even better in 2023 (.277, 20 HR, 80 RBI), but has been nowhere near as productive since. 

He was an All-Star last year but his just .207 in the second half, and is hitting .227 with a .684 OPS in 85 games this year. He’s missed a good amount of time due to injury, and is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. 

While those numbers may not be as good as they’ve been before, the Guardians would kill for that kind of production from behind the plate. 

Rutschman has a career wRC+ of 111 since he entered the league, which means that he’s been 11% better than the average hitter. Meanwhile, Guardians catchers have combined for a wRC+ of 64 in that time frame, meaning they’ve been 36% worse than league-average over that span.  

Bo Naylor has helped bring a bit of stability to the position and is a better option behind the plate than Austin Hedges, Luke Maile, Cam Gallagher or whatever other options the team has rolled out, but he’s still a career .200 hitter. 

Rutschman would help fix that, even if it may force the front office to make an uncomfortable decision about Naylor. Rutschman has posted above-average framing numbers in every season of his career but last year, and has shown that he can provide strong production at the plate. 

There’s also a chance this could all be a pipe dream. The biggest knock on Bassallo’s game was his ability to dictate the game behind the plate, which has led to some speculation that he may not be the team’s long-term answer at catcher. But, if the Orioles do decide to get out of the Rutschman game, the Guardians should be the first team to give them a call.