Batting Around: Should the Orioles trade Adley Rutschman after extending catching prospect Samuel Basallo?

Throughout the season the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable, breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we picked between Corbin Carroll and Julio Rodríguez. This week we're going to tackle Adley Rutschman's future with the Orioles.

Now that Samuel Basallo is locked up, should the Orioles trade Adley Rutschman?

R.J. Anderson: It depends on what they can get in return. I think there's a threshold where keeping Rutschman and incorporating a timeshare of sorts, wherein Basallo can develop behind the plate without being thrown into the deep end of full-time staff management, makes sense. I would assume that other teams value Rutschman enough to make substantives offers -- ones good enough to merit a move -- but shy of that I don't think they have to enter this winter dead set on dealing him.

Dayn Perry: I'd lean toward keeping Rutschman at this point. The O's are very much intending to return to contention this season after a disappointing 2025, and Rutschman helps that objective. On another level, Rutschman has been in a pattern of offensive decline ever since his rookie season. He'd have much more trade value coming off a reversal of that trend, so from that standpoint it's worth giving him another year to re-establish some offensive value. Then he could be shopped going into his walk year. As well, Basallo, who has some defensive limitations, could probably benefit from an "apprentice" year in a job-sharing arrangement with Rutschman.

Matt Snyder: What happened at the 2024 All-Star break? Rutschman was hitting .275/.339/.441 with 16 homers before the break -- which was in line with what he had been since joining the majors -- and after he hit .207/.282/.303. He's been a below-average hitter again this season. Basically he's fallen apart offensively and we have almost a full season of that with brief bright spots. He's turning 28 next season and soon to enter his second year of arbitration. I think it's worth at least floating his name out there to see what kind of offers come in return, but the issue is his value has taken a hit. Maybe Dayn has the best approach here which is to give him another year in hopes of him bouncing back offensively while tutoring Basallo.

Mike Axisa: Just to follow up on Matt's point, Rutschman is hitting .219/.299/.345 in almost 600 plate appearances since last year's All-Star break. That's below average even for a catcher. His defense has slipped too. I know he's had injuries this year, but this is worrisome, no? Rutschman only has two more years of control. This isn't a guy locked up another four or five years. Even with his value down, the Orioles may never get more back for Rutschman than they will this offseason. One potential issue: Only a few contenders will need a starting catcher this winter. The Phillies (J.T. Realmuto will be a free agent), the Padres, maybe the Rangers, and that's really it. Rutschman's market may not be that robust.

To answer the question, I would certainly listen to offers (O's GM Mike Elias would not be doing his job if he didn't at least listen), though I wouldn't be eager to trade Rutschman. Basallo's defense is rough around the edges. Throwing him right into the fire as a full-time starter might not be the best thing for him at this point in his development. A catcher/DH timeshare with Basallo and Rutschman might be the way to get the best out of both players, honestly. If a team blows the Orioles away with an offer (it only takes one), then sure, move him. Otherwise I'm inclined to keep Adley in part to help smooth Basallo's adjustment to the majors.