Adley Rutschman Would Bring One Major Concern For Pirates
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Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman makes sense as a fit for the Pittsburgh Pirates at this year's trade deadline if he's made available, but there is a risk that the club has to be cognizant of before taking the plunge on any potential deal for the former No. 1 overall pick.
During a recent episode of the "Bucco Territory" podcast, former Pirates All-Star Josh Harrison brought up the idea of targeting Rutschman as a switch-hitting option behind the plate who would lengthen the lineup and could also spend some time as the designated hitter.
The 28-year-old will head into his final year of arbitration in 2027, however, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Noah Hiles raised the point that if there is no baseball amidst a potential lockout as MLB and the MLBPA try to find common ground on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Rutschman could essentially become a rental in exchange for a hefty prospect package going back to the Orioles.
"Well, if we knew there was going to be baseball next year, this is a no-brainer, and I'd be willing to give up a little something for him," Hiles said. "Probably something within my top 10, honestly, because if he plays well and likes it here, maybe just keep him. But if you give up a good prospect to get him, which is going to be required, and there's no baseball next year, you just kinda lose it."
Would Adley Rutschman be worth trading for?
— Bucco Territory (@BuccoTerritory) June 24, 2026
A switch-hitting catcher with a .787 OPS is hard to pass up says J Hay, even if it would take at least a top 10 prospect
But Noah cautions with a potential lockout next year in Adley's final year of arbitratrion, it could be risky pic.twitter.com/fRhlTKlyVc
Would Rutschman Still Be Worth It for Pittsburgh?
The threat of a lockout is extremely real. The league went through one during the previous round of CBA in 2022 that dragged out until early March, but with a salary cap becoming a real sticking point this time around, there's some concern that a portion of the 2027 campaign, if not the whole thing, gets wiped out.
Trading for any players under contract beyond this season comes with inherent risk as a result, much like Hiles stated, especially if their last year of club control is in 2027.
With that being said, though, Pittsburgh can't let that stand in the way of a potential Rutschman pursuit. Endy Rodríguez has been a revelation offensively at catcher for the team so far this year, slashing .270/.398/.472 with four home runs in 109 plate appearances, but he's struggled defensively.
Rutschman, on the other hand, has performed well with the bat (.777 OPS, eight home runs) while profiling as one of the league's top defenders behind the plate with 3 Blocks Above Average (78th percentile), 4 Caught Stealing Above Average (99th percentile) and 6 Framing Runs (97th percentile), per Baseball Savant.
Bringing Rutschman in would help out the pitching staff and also mean optioning Henry Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis amidst his continued shortcomings offensively.
The uncertainty surrounding the status of the 2027 season should make the Pirates more willing to go out of their comfort zone and adopt an aggressive approach in supplementing their roster in hopes of making a playoff run.
If that means parting ways with a top-10 prospect or so in their system for Rutschman, than so be it.
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Jack is a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Media & Professional Communications major in 2024 who is now covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees for On SI.