Calling the Pen: A frank look at the Rutschman trade

Something changed for me in 1966. I had been a baseball fan — Sandy Koufax, in particular — but I wasn’t an Orioles fan. Then Frank Robinson arrived and my interest in the Orioles became a passion. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Frank turned a good team into a great one — four World Series appearances and two championships in six years. Three consecutive seasons, 1969-’71, of more than 100 wins, and a Triple Crown in his first season, when the Orioles defeated Koufax and the Dodgers to win their first World Series. The Orioles were the envy of baseball, and then they crushed me by trading the 36-year-old Robinson to the Dodgers because they had Don Baylor waiting in the wings. Robinson hit 19 home runs that year for the Dodgers and 30 the following year for the Angels, when the designated hitter was introduced. If only the Orioles had waited, but they thought they were getting value in right-hander Doyle Alexander, who was 35-37 in his five years with the O’s.

Robinson was dealt in December of 1971 without the pressure of a 6 p.m. trade deadline. It was business, not personal, although it felt that way to me. He and Brooks and Palmer, along with a marvelously talented supporting cast, established a standard that won’t be duplicated here. They never talked about liftoff, they just took off and won more games and titles than anyone else during that stretch.

Still, I wanted more, and more time watching Frank because he made me care about the Orioles. That might be how many much younger fans feel about the loss of catcher Adley Rutschman. Again, it was business that felt deeply personal.

On the day of the Preakness, May 21st, 2022, the more exciting sporting event took place at Camden Yards when Rutschman made his debut. He was greeted with a standing ovation, shook hands with the home plate umpire and did a 360 to take in the moment before sliding on his catcher’s mask to go to work. Like Frank, he was the face of the Orioles in that moment, bringing the promise of the next chapter of winning baseball.

On Monday, president of baseball operations Mike Elias, who had selected Rutschman with his first pick, turned the page by trading Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox for three prospects and a catcher. The window of opportunity Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson represented never fully opened, even though they brought some winning baseball back to Baltimore. They led the Orioles to 101 wins, a division title and a playoff berth in 2023, and a second playoff berth in 2024, when their decline was evident in the second half. They didn’t win a playoff game in either year.

Rutschman was a deserving All-Star in ’23 and ’24 and won over fans in the Home Run Derby in 2023 when he hit 27 in the first round, both from the left and right side of the plate, while taking pitches from his dad. In ’24, he gave advice to Henderson for the Derby while also enjoying the company of Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg. The Orioles were 58-38 and considered the next dominant team.

It turned out to be the high point for Rutschman and his teammates. A possible injury to his hand from a foul tip led to an abysmal second half, two oblique muscle injuries required two trips to the injured list in the last-place ’25 season, and three trips to the injured list have robbed him of a bounce-back season this year. With the 2027 season being his last under club control, Elias put aside his feelings for Rutschman and landed three of Boston’s top five prospects, plus a catcher. He did the right thing, even if it doesn’t feel that way to fans who developed an affection for Rutschman.

Among the reactions to baseball’s biggest trade on Monday was this one from ESPN senior writer David Schoenfield, whose thoughts reflect mine. He gave the trade an “A” for the Orioles, with a huge caveat.

“From a pure baseball standpoint, this could turn into a blockbuster for the Orioles, turning an injury-prone former star who is one season away from free agency into two excellent pitching prospects in [Anthony] Eyanson and [Kyson] Witherspoon and a good outfield prospect in [Enddy] Azocar. Especially with Samuel Basallo on hand ready to take over the regular catcher duties. He’s not Rutschman behind the plate, but he has shown enough that the Orioles can be comfortable moving ahead with him as the starter.

“The three players acquired were ranked second (Eyanson), fourth (Azocar) and fifth (Witherspoon) on Kiley McDaniel’s postdraft top 10 prospects list for the Red Sox. Eyanson, drafted last year out of LSU in the third round, has a 1.69 ERA in Double-A while holding batters to a .152 average. Azocar is hitting .286/.341/.540 in Class A as a 19-year-old. Witherspoon was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Oklahoma. This is a massive haul for a player who has a name reputation that exceeds his actual production in recent years.

“So, I’ll reluctantly give it an A grade, although you could easily justify giving this trade a failing grade, since it also signifies the end of an era that has ended in disappointment. Rutschman was the original face of the Orioles’ turnaround, but the team has gone backward since that 101-win season in 2023. Logically, trading Rutschman and Taylor Ward makes sense, even if the Orioles are close to a wild card; it’s not really a good enough team to believe it’s capable of reaching the playoffs. Emotionally though, for O’s fans? It still stinks.”