Inside The Orioles

Could Orioles Entertain Shocking Trade of Star Catcher as Top Prospect Emerges?

The Baltimore Orioles are about to have a serious conundrum on their hands.

Michael Brauner

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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The Baltimore Orioles are in the middle of a season in which it looked for a long time like selling was the surefire route when the trade deadline comes along.

Though they have started to play better over the last several weeks, that still could very well prove to be the case and the next few weeks are going to determine exactly what the strategy is moving forward.

One prospect's emergence though is giving Baltimore a very interesting conundrum as the deadline approaches, and could cause the Orioles to at the very least entertain the unthinkable.

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On Thursday afternoon, top prospect and top-20 prospect in baseball Samuel Basallo hit his fifth home run in the last seven games for Triple-A Norfolk.

As Basallo crushes everything in site, it's worth at least asking the question whether or not Baltimore would consider clearing the path for the young catcher.

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Two years ago, this would not have even been a discussion. However, as has been the case every season following franchise catcher Adley Rutschman's sensational rookie season, his numbers have taken another dip this year.

Rutschman is slashing .229/.321/.376 in 61 games this season, and this is coming off a rather pedestrian slash line of .250/.318/.391 in 148 games last season.

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Basallo meanwhile is coming, and coming with a vengeance. After starting the year in Triple-A, he has slashed .252/.367/.597 with 14 home runs and 30 RBI in 41 games, and it's not going to be long before he's too good to be kept out of Major League Baseball.

A platoon system could be in the cards, but the truth is barring a position switch there is not going to be room for both in the long-term.

No prospect is a sure thing and it is a wild move to trade a perceived established star still under team control until 2028 in favor of a prospect who has yet to take a big league at-bat, but it may be worth it.

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A team looking for an elite catcher would be willing to give up a haul for Rutschman, and if Baltimore is already out of the playoff picture by July, they do not need to rush Basallo along and can afford to be patient.

It sounds crazy on the surface, but dealing away Rutschman now might not be so crazy at all.

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Michael Brauner
MICHAEL BRAUNER

Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.

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