Red Sox acquiring three-time All-Star Adley Rutschman in intra-division trade deadline deal with Orioles

The Boston Red Sox have acquired catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles hours before Monday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline, ESPN reports. In return, the Orioles will receive a package of four players and a player to be named later, reports the Baltimore Sun. The return, headlined by right-handed pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson, also includes catcher Carlos Narváez, right-handed prospect Kyson Witherspoon and outfield prospect Enddy Azocar.

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Rutschman, 28, is a former No. 1 overall draft pick out of Oregon State and a three-time All-Star. He had spent his entire professional career with the Orioles prior to this trade. This season, he’s enjoying a solid bounce-back campaign coming off an injury-compromised 2025 in which he posted the worst offensive numbers of his career. For that career, Rutschman has an OPS+ of 115 – the same as his 2026 figure – across parts of five big-league seasons. He’s averaged 20 home runs per 162 games played over that span, although his power has taken a dip in recent seasons. Rutschman is presently on the injured list with an inflamed wrist, but he could soon begin a minor-league rehab assignment. 

Rutschman is owed the balance of a $7.25 million salary for this season, and he’ll again be arbitration-eligible for 2027, the final season before he’s slated for free agency. 

The Orioles make the move despite being just 2 ½ games out of playoff position going into Monday’s slate of games. They do have rookie Samuel Basallo ready to take over as the team’s primary catcher moving forward. However, he’s on the IL with shoulder inflammation. In earlier deadline deals, the Orioles also traded starting pitcher Dean Kremer to the Twins and outfielder Taylor Ward to the Mariners. 

Once healthy, the switch-hitting Rutschman is primed to fill the catcher void for the division-rival Red Sox, who have surged back into contention thanks to a franchise-record 21-4 record in July. This season, Boston catchers — mostly Connor Wong and Narváez — have combined for an OPS of just .615, which ranks 25th in MLB. Rutschman, in contrast, has a .764 OPS this season and a .756 mark for his career. That additional year of control means that Orioles fans must watch Rutschman — the face of their recent deep rebuild — in a Boston uniform not only for the rest of 2026 but also the 2027 season. 

On the return side for Baltimore, Witherspoon, who turns 22 on Aug. 12, is the most notable addition for the Orioles. Coming into this season, CBS Sports ranked him as the No. 77 overall prospect. Here’s part of that write-up: 

“Witherspoon has an uptempo delivery that sees him pitch off a high front side and really hinge on his back leg before he looses the ball from a high-three-quarters slot. Despite the frantic aesthetics, he was able to rein in his control at Oklahoma, with his strikeout-minus-walk percentage improving from 13.4% to 25.9% year to year. Witherspoon certainly has the stuff to start at the big-league level — his arsenal includes a heater that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s, a cutter, and two breaking balls — so his future will hinge on his ability to maintain those control gains as a professional.”

This season, Witherspoon, the No. 15 overall draft pick in 2025 out of the University of Oklahoma, has a 4.78 ERA in 17 starts at the High-A level. Eyanson, age 21 and a former third-rounder out of LSU, is in his first professional season. In 68 ⅓ combined innings at the High-A and Double-A levels, Eyanson has a 1.32 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 26 walks. Azocar, 19, is enjoying what may shape up to be a breakout season in 2026. Across 85 games at the Single-A and High-A levels, he’s slugging .540 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, six triples, and 11 stolen bases while spending most of his time in center field.