Boston Red Sox
The price was high, but the Sox bought low on a very talented, established player.
Adley Rutschman is a 28-year-old, switch-hitting catcher who plays excellent defense. Gail Burton
August 4, 2026 | 8:49 AM
4 minutes to read
Playing nine innings while hoping Monday’s Red Sox moves mean that Steven Matz will no longer rank as Craig Breslow’s best trade deadline pickup …
1. There is no doubt that the Red Sox gave up plenty of potential to dream on in acquiring catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles before the deadline. Righthanded pitchers Anthony Eyanson (who was ranked as their No. 2 prospect) and Kyson Witherspoon (No. 3), plus outfielder Enddy Azocar (No. 5) and a player to be named later counts as nothing short of a haul for the Orioles. (Catcher Carlos Narváez also went to Baltimore in the deal, with backstop Jake Rogers coming back to Boston.) The cost to bring in Rutschman, a three-time All-Star with a great reputation and a worrisome injury history, is a lot. It comes with risk, and it may be regrettable seasons down the road. This is all true. And you know what? Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow deserves an abundance of kudos for having the guts to do this.
2. Why? Easy. Because the Red Sox — the actual major league team, separate from the prospect industrial complex, where every 19-year-old with promising tools is perceived by some wings of the fan base as a surefire, untouchable future star — have earned it. Rutschman is a 28-year-old, switch-hitting catcher who plays excellent defense, is reputed to be a natural leader, and is an above-average offensive performer at the position. Catcher was the weakest position on the roster. Once Rutschman returns from a wrist injury — c’mon, have patience, like you did when injured Kyle Schwarber was acquired in 2021 — it will be a strength. The price was high, but the Sox bought low on a very talented, established player.
3. Rutschman will help a team that has proven more than deserving of bringing in outside help for the stretch run — and perhaps a prolonged postseason stay. They won nine straight before the All-Star break, went 8-2 in a 10-game stretch against American League East opponents, and just swept the Dodgers to finish a daunting 17-game stretch with a 14-3 record. It would have been a letdown Monday if Breslow had not taken the bold route and rewarded them for their weeks of exceptional play with necessary reinforcements.
4. To me, this deal is one more sign that Breslow has learned from past mistakes — such as the underwhelming deadlines of his first two seasons in charge — and keeps improving at a job that he probably wasn’t quite ready for when he got it. It also tells me that he is extremely confident in his and his staff’s assessment of pitching. In the last 11 days, Breslow has traded Eyanson, Witherspoon, and Connelly Early.
5. Related question: Who do you think has a better career, Early or the pitcher Breslow pilfered from the Nationals in December, Jake Bennett? I lean Early, but I acknowledge that part of the reason is I enjoyed watching him deploy his old-school, six-pitch repertoire. Somewhere along the way, pitchers reliant on a triple-digit fastball and not a whole lot of guile and nuance got boring.
6. Welp, guess we know how they really feel — make that felt — about Marcelo Mayer, huh? The No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, a top-15 prospect in Baseball America’s rankings four straight seasons, was sent to the Giants for 28-year-old lefthanded reliever Erik Miller, who has filthy stuff but 22 walks in 32⅔ innings. Mayer ranks as one of the biggest prospect disappointments in recent Red Sox history. He never stayed healthy in the minors, and once he got to the majors, he failed to hit a) breaking balls, b) changeups, and c) lefthanded pitching in general. This could haunt. Don’t think it will.
Franklin Arias participated in the All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. – Emilee Chinn
7. Don’t know about you, but I exhaled when the deadline passed and the Red Sox had held on to top prospect Franklin Arias, the 20-year-old shortstop recently promoted to Triple-A Worcester after raking all summer in Portland. I did not want to see him traded for Angels shortstop Zach Neto, who has 19 home runs but has struck out a league-leading 155 times in 109 games. The Red Sox already have one Trevor Story on their payroll. That’s plenty.
8. It would be understandable if Breslow and the Sox brain trust are hesitant to promote Arias to the big leagues this season, in part because they got burned by rushing Mayer and Kristian Campbell. But I have to acknowledge, I keep wondering if he could provide a jolt to this team in its postseason pursuit in a way similar to what 20-year-old shortstop Xander Bogaerts gave the Sox 13 years ago.
9. It’s always interesting to look back on prospect rankings and see who rose and who stagnated or faded. Two years ago, the 18-year-old Arias was ranked as the Red Sox’ No. 15 prospect by MLB.com, behind the likes of Luis Perales (No. 11, and the pitcher traded straight-up for Bennett) and Richard Fitts (No. 12). Now Arias is the No. 3 prospect in baseball. It really is the most inexact of sciences. Good thing to keep in mind today, right?
Chad Finn
Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.
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