The Red Sox just pulled off the biggest trade of the deadline, and it's not close. Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 and a 3-time All-Star, is headed to Boston in a deal that gutted a chunk of the farm system to get it done. For an Orioles fanbase that watched this guy get anointed the face of the franchise, it's a gut punch.
A reaction video captures the moment the news broke, with the poster reacting live to Jeff Passan's report that Rutschman was headed to Boston.
The timing stings extra hard for Baltimore. Rutschman's GM once called it "liftoff" for the organization on this exact date 4 years ago, and now the guy who was supposed to be the centerpiece of that liftoff is gone. That's the kind of symmetry that doesn't need embellishing.
Boston didn't get him cheap. The return headed to Baltimore is built around right-hander Anthony Eyanson, Boston's No. 2 prospect who's been dealing at Double-A, plus righty Kyson Witherspoon, outfielder Enddy Azocar, catcher Carlos Narvaez and a player to be named later. That's a real haul for a guy currently sitting on the injured list.
A breakdown of the trade details lays out the full prospect package Boston sent back to Baltimore for Rutschman.
And that brings up the part of this story that's been buzzing all day: the wrist. Rutschman has been in and out of the lineup with left wrist inflammation, part of a run that's put him on the IL multiple times this season alone. Word going around is that's exactly why the Yankees, who by every account need catching help as badly as anyone in the sport, backed off.
Been told again, the medicals on that wrist are not good. Would imagine that's why it's taking so long for Boston to figure this out
That's the version making the rounds anyway — that New York got a look at the medicals and didn't love what they saw, and it's part of why this deal took as long as it did to get across the finish line. Whether that health question ages well or turns into buyer's remorse for Boston, only time and an MRI machine will answer.
Either way, this is Boston signaling they're not sitting out the race. Getting a former No. 1 pick with an All-Star track record, even a dinged-up one, at a position of need is the kind of move a team makes when it thinks the window's open right now.