Orioles trade Adley Rutschman to Red Sox, ESPN reports

The Baltimore Orioles traded Adley Rutschman, who was the face of the club's rebuild, to a division rival, the team announced. The Boston Red Sox acquired the three-time All-Star catcher in a trade with Baltimore for three prospects and a backup catcher. The O's confirmed they acquired catcher Carlos Narváez and minor league right-handed pitchers Anthony Eyanson (Boston's No. 2 prospect) and Kyson Witherspoon (Boston's No. 4 prospect), outfielder Enddy Azocar (Boston's No. 5 prospect) and an additional player to be named later. The switch-hitting Rutschman was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, ranking as baseball's No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Orioles called up Rutschman from Norfolk in 2022. Drafted out of Oregon State in 2019, the O's first No. 1 overall pick since Ben McDonald, Rutschman's Baltimore debut felt the beginning of something so special. From May 2022 through June 2024, he spearheaded a rebirth of the O's, which won 101 games in 2023 and returned to the playoffs in 2024. But there are no playoff wins included in the Rutschman era, and after zero trips to the injured list his first three seasons, Rutschman has missed time for injury five different times over the last two seasons. Rutschman earned three trips to the All-Star game in 2023, 2024 and 2026, and he was the 2023 Silver Slugger award winner. It's the kind of resume that one would imagine meant he would be a long-term fixture in Baltimore. He hit 69 home runs for Baltimore, driving in 277 runs in parts of five seasons. https://x.com/WBALPete/status/2084386997955703145?s=20 It became clear to the front office that Rutschman did not want to sign a long-term extension, a motivation possibly helped by the arrival of Samuel Basallo. Regardless, Rutschman was a consummate pro in Baltimore, very popular with his teammates and the fans. More trades: Taylor Ward traded to the Seattle Mariners The news comes the same day as the trade of outfielder Taylor Ward to the Seattle Mariners for two prospects and current Mariners reliever Alex Hoppe. Ward came to Baltimore via the trade from Anaheim as the Birds sent away their one-time top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez. Ward hit 36 home runs for the Angels last season, but did not bring that same pop to Camden Yards, hitting just seven homers this season. He was, however, one of the very best in the game at getting on base. Late-afternoon trades Late Monday afternoon, the O's said they were trading Orioles reliever Tyler Wells to Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher prospect Michael Forret. The former Oriole had made his MLB debut at Camden Yards in the 2021 season. https://x.com/Orioles/status/2084402704411959511?s=20 The O's also acquired outfielder Christian Franklin from the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Joe Glassey.