The will soon have their marquee deadline addition in the lineup for the first time. Catcher , who’s been sidelined since the middle of July with left wrist inflammation, will be activated in time to face and the on Tuesday night in Toronto, interim manager Chad Tracy told media, including , after Monday’s loss.
The Red Sox acquired Rutschman from their American League East rivals, the , on Aug. 3 – deadline day – as part of a seven-player trade that also landed them , who’s been getting some reps at catcher during Rutschman’s absence. Rutschman just completed a two-game minor-league rehab stint with Triple-A Worcester, and in those seven plate appearances, he slashed .200/.429/.400 with a double and two walks against one strikeout.
With Boston, the 28-year-old Rutschman — a former No. 1 overall draft pick out of Oregon State and not so long ago the face of the Orioles’ promising future — figures to fill a genuine void. Catcher has been a weak spot for the Red Sox all season, as their catchers have thus far combined to bat .222/.307/.323. That’s mostly been the work of , who’s been getting semi-regular duty for much of the season, and Carlos Narváez, who was sent to Baltimore as part of the Rutschman trade. Overall, that comes to an OPS of .630 for Red Sox catchers this season, a figure that ranks 22nd in among all catching corps.
Rutschman, in contrast, has this season put up an OPS of .764, which is in line to be his highest figure since 2023, when he won a Silver Slugger and finished ninth in the American League MVP vote. Given the pattern of offensive decline that’s been in place for Rutschman since his rookie season, that’s an encouraging development. Peer a bit more deeply, and you’ll find that Rutschman’s batted-ball metrics suggest he should be even better than he has been. In large measure, that’s because he’s been among the league’s best — in the 96th percentile, to be exact — at hitting the ball at the ideal angle off the bat for power production. That’s in addition to his strong plate-discipline indicators.
As a lefty hitter, Rutschman also gives Tracy’s already fairly balanced lineup even more of the same. Consider this possible arrangement against right-handed starters:
That’s just one possibility (Rutschman in his career has batted second a plurality of the time), and there’s no lane at all in that lineup for a reliever to face consecutive batters of the same hand. Rutschman’s backup, regardless of whether it’s Wong or Rogers (probably Wong), will be right-handed, so it’s easy to give Rutschman his rest when a lefty is starting for the opposition. As fits go, it’s a strong one, in terms of both need and flow.
Rutschman isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season, but the focus is on what he means to Boston in the here and now. Speaking of which, the Red Sox, who boast a scorching mark of 27-7 since July 1, and that’s vaulted them from possible deadline seller to possible pennant contender.
Overall, they welcome Rutschman into the fold at 10 games above .500 and firmly in second wild-card position in the AL. At the same time, Boston has the best run differential in the division, and while they’re eight games off the ‘ pace in the AL East, they’re of course not prepared to concede the flag yet, especially given their recent trajectory. Rutschman solidifies their playoff status and makes an AL East miracle comeback, in terms of likelihood, a bit less miraculous.
