Adley Rutschman is not the best player in baseball. That’s not a particularly insightful thing to point out. It’s really hard to be the best player in baseball, and the current holder of that title is not only the best player right now, but the best to ever play the game. Rutschman is also not in the conversation about the best players in baseball. But, again, no slight there — the game is hard, cue Jimmy Dugan.
But the fact that Rutschman is not in the conversation about the best players in the game
is somewhat notable because, not all that long ago, it looked like he one day absolutely would be. Rutschman flew threw the minors after being selected first overall in 2019. As a 24-year-old rookie in 2002, he received MVP votes despite the fact that he didn’t play in his first game until late May. He finished the year just 15th in games played as a catcher, but second in fWAR at the position with 5.6. The next year he would make the All-Star Game and win his first Silver Slugger, as he looked not only like a future superstar, but a current one, a precocious talent with a flawless all-around game who somehow needed no time at all to adjust to big league baseball.
Just three years later, though, Rutschman is considered to be one of the most disappointing players in baseball. Rutschman has put up an OPS+ of only 103 in the three years since he won that Silver Slugger, barely above league average. He’s hit just 36 homers and struggled with injuries, missing over half the 2025 season with oblique injuries and going on the IL three ties already in 2026.
But the funny thing about disappointment is that it’s a relative thing. Adley Rutschman is decidedly not a bad player. During this letdown stretch from 2024-2026, Rutschman has been the ninth-best catcher in baseball by fWAR. He still has excellent bat control, excelling at limited strikeouts and working walks. And his outstanding glove has never wavered: by Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value, he’s been the third-best defensive catcher in the game this year. He’s a fine catcher, a big upgrade over the Red Sox’ in-house options, and he’s not a free agent until after the 2027 season. Adding a player of his caliber to your roster is never a bad thing.
Rutschman didn’t come free, of course. Not even close, in fact. In return for his services the Sox shipped off a hefty package of prospects Athony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Endy Ezocar, Harold Rivas and big leaguer Carlos Narvaez who, after having a surprisingly great rookie year in 2025, has been struggling through it all year and is now redundant.
Eyanson is clearly the headliner. The number two prospect in the system according to Soxprospects.com, he struck out 10 hitters in his most recent start for AA Portland and has been one of the most exciting players in the Sox’ minor league system this year. Witherspoon came into the season even more highly rated than Eyanson, but has had an up-and-down campaign as the Sox work to adjsut his mechanics. Ezocar and Rivas are both further away, with Rivas yet to advance out of the Florida Complex League. They are both essentially single-A lotto tickets, though good ones. These are good prospects! They might even become good players someday. But Adley Rutscchman already is a good player, even if he’s a disappointing one.
And, moreover, the thing about “disappointing” players is that it’s hard not to hang onto a little bit of hope. The player who was once viewed as potentially one of the very best in the game may still be buried underneath all that catcher’s equipment somewhere. As it is, Rutschman is having something of a bounceback season in between the injuries — and, yes, we much note that he is currently injured with left wrist inflammation. But if the old Rutschmann comes out at some point over the next 14 months, the Sox may have landed themselves a gem.
