Should Orioles keep Adley Rutschman for 2026? | MAILBAG

Question: Shouldn’t the Orioles keep Adley Rutschman for one more season? He could alternate with Samuel Basallo at catcher and also be DH. Plus, could he stop switch-hitting and bat lefty? It seemed to help Cedric Mullins. From: Paulius Klimas

Answer: Paulius, I agree with your first assertion, but not your second one. The Orioles should keep Adley Rutschman for 2026 because they need at least two catchers, and perhaps they’ll even find a way to keep three catchers.

Rutschman can catch and serve as designated hitter while Basallo can catch and play first. Basallo is a left-handed hitter, and it would make less sense for the Orioles to have two left-handed hitting catchers. Besides this season, Rutschman is batting .263 as a left-handed hitter and .211 as a right-handed hitter.

Question: It seems to me that many Orioles, particularly Ryan Mountcastle, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo, swing and miss much too often. I don’t get to see other teams very much and I’m wondering if the whiff rate of these three Orioles is higher than most. Are there statistics showing whiff rates among the various major leaguers? And if so, where do these Orioles stand in relation to others? From: Jerry Langbaum

Answer: Jerry, Entering Wednesday’s game, Cowser had a whiff rate of 34.3 percent, Mayo’s was 31.3 and Mountcastle’s 29.6 percent. The league average is about 25 percent, so, yes, they’re well above the average major leaguer.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.