Breaking down what the Orioles got from the Adley Rutschman trade

For the second deadline in a row, the Baltimore Orioles were one of the most active sellers at the trade deadline. The big difference being that last year they mostly traded players on expiring contracts in exchange for mostly unknown prospects in the lower minors, and this year they moved multiple players with years of control beyond the end of the 2026 season and, in return, brought back some potentially very impactful prospects.

The most significant package they got back was in exchange for franchise catcher Adley Rutschman. As painful as it was for the Orioles to trade such an important player in division. They did, at the very least, get a massive package back in return.

The Orioles used the Adley Rutschman trade to reload their farm system

Anthony Eyanson, SP, AA

Eyanson is the prize of the Rutschman trade and the Orioles' deadline as a whole. He was the number two starter at LSU behind Kade Anderson and fell to the third round of the 2025 draft due to some doubts about his arsenal, but since being drafted by the Red Sox, he's been incredible. He was basically unhittable in High-A to start the season and has scarcely missed a beat since being promoted to Double-A.

His performance against professional hitters has answered most of the pre-draft concerns about him, and as a result, he has flown up prospect rankings. He's not a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline (#49), Fangraphs (#27), ESPN (#46), and Baseball America (#33).

Eyanson has a five-pitch mix with an impressive fastball and slider leading the way as his primary offerings. Those two pitches are the biggest reason for his sudden rise in prospect status. The fastball has ticked up since he was drafted, and he now sits in the upper to mid 90s, occasionally touching triple digits. The slider is the strikeout pitch that he uses to get chases and swing and miss at an elite rate.

Just one year after being drafted, Eyanson already has 48 dominant innings under his belt at Double-A. He's a candidate to be promoted to Triple-A before the end of the season and then potentially either start the 2027 season with the Orioles or be a very early-season call-up. If he reaches his potential, he has real top-of-the-rotation upside, which is something the Orioles haven't had in their system in years.

Kyson Witherspoon, SP, A+

Witherspoon was the Red Sox's first-round pick in last year's draft. He was drafted coming off a dominant junior year at Oklahoma, where he pitched to a 2.65 ERA, striking out 124 batters in 95 innings. When the Red Sox got him with the 15th pick, it was seen as an absolute steal that he'd fallen to them.

So far, Witherspoon's minor league career has been a bit disappointing, especially compared to Eyanson, who was taken 70 picks later in the draft. The Red Sox were attempting to have him adjust his delivery, and those adjustments have proven difficult. He has struggled to be efficient and has been prone to fits of walks in his short outings.

As disappointing as the results have been, the talent that made Witherspoon a no-doubt top 10 pick is still there. This isn't a prospect who has spent years struggling to fix it; this is a recently drafted arm that is struggling to adjust to professional hitters. It's a good buy-low opportunity for the Orioles.

If Witherspoon can make the delivery adjustments he needs to make, he has the frame and the tools to quickly follow Eyanson through the minors. It'll be interesting to see if the Orioles have him go back to his college delivery or continue trying to help make the changes that the Red Sox instigated.

Enddy Azocar, OF, A+

Azocar is less well known than the other prospects in the Rutschman trade, but he's a nothing throw-in. At just 19 years old, Azocar is having a breakout season in the minors. He started the year slashing .295/.344/.520 in Low-A before being promoted to High-A, where he kept right on chugging, putting out a .279/.338/.547. He has the makings of a high-floor prospect that could go on to be a productive MLB bat and a solid corner outfield defender.

He is still a ways away from the majors and has plenty of developing to do. His biggest weaknesses at the plate are the lack of walks, which, if not corrected, will become a bigger problem as he gets closer to the majors, but the Orioles' development system specializes in plate discipline. If he makes a jump in the area, he could easily slide into the back end of the various top 100 lists.

Carlos Narvaez, C, MLB

The Red Sox picked up Carlos Narvaez in another in-division trade between them and the Yankees. Narvaez had an excellent 2025 season, slashing .241/.308/.419 while playing excellent defense behind the plate, putting up 2.7 fWAR. It seemed like the Red Sox had found their catcher of the future.

This season has gone about as poorly as possible for Narvaez. His defense has held up, but he's regressed massively at the plate. The Red Sox seem to have soured on him and are leaning more toward Connor Wong and Mickey Gasper, treating Narvaez more like a bench catcher.

Getting Narvaez in this trade is interesting. As a defense-first right-handed catcher, he should be a good match for a catching time share with Samuel Basallo. He obviously doesn't offer the top-of-the-order hitting ability that Rutschman possesses, but if he can bounce back at all at the plate, the Orioles should be able to feel good about having him behind the plate and in the lineup when Basallo needs an off day. There's a high floor with Narvaez and a decent ceiling if he can figure things out with the bat.

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