The Baltimore Orioles signed 21-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year contract extension worth $67MM on Aug. 22, leaving catcher Adley Rutschman's future with Baltimore uncertain. The Orioles will likely listen to offers on Rutschman this winter, and Minnesota may attempt to acquire the two-time All-Star catcher from Baltimore.
Why would the Twins be interested in Adley Rutschman after the trade deadline fire sale?
Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers's contract ends after the 2026 season, while Rutschman's ends following the 2027 season. Granted, a lockout may occur in 2027, but if so, the Twins wouldn't have to pay Rutschman's salary in 2027 anyway.
While Minnesota acquired two promising catching prospects, Eduardo Tait and Enrique Jimenez, this summer, neither is likely to be ready for the major leagues until late 2027 or sometime in 2028. Whether a lockout in 2027 occurs or not, acquiring Rutschman would guarantee the Twins have an established catcher until their top catching prospects are ready for Major League Baseball.
And even though Jeffers appears to be the Twins' starting catcher for 2026, he is a below-average defender. Getting Rutschman would allow both him and Jeffers to split time at the backstop position, and Jeffers could mainly serve as the designated hitter. The Twins signed a strong defensive catcher in Christian Vázquez in the 2022/23 offseason despite already having Jeffers, proving that the organization prefers to have a good defender at the backstop position. Vázquez's contract expires at the conclusion of this season, and adding Rutschman would be one way for the Twins to ensure they have a good defensive catcher. Additionally, Rutschman, although he has struggled at the plate this season, has much more potential with the bat than Vázquez.
What would it take for the Twins to pry Adley Rutschman from the Orioles?
It's no secret that Baltimore needs starting pitching. After making the postseason in 2023 and 2024, the Orioles became one of the worst teams in the American League this year, largely due to poor starting pitching. Their offense hasn't been great either, but with promising young position players such as Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, getting an ace-level starting pitcher is the primary need for Baltimore.
Twins fans may not like this, and I personally would not trade either of these players as well, but giving up Joe Ryan or Pablo López surely would be one way for the Twins to acquire Rutschman. Ryan and López are both under contract through 2027, like Rutschman, but one has to figure that the Twins and Orioles are both teams that feel they can return to contention sooner rather than later. Minnesota has an array of starting pitchers either in the major leagues or knocking at the door, and the Orioles appear set at catcher for the foreseeable future with Basallo.
The Twins likely would want a top-tier prospect in addition to Rutschman if they were to give up Ryan or López. Minnesota can throw in someone like Trevor Larnach as well, as Minnesota's outfield is more crowded than ever.
Here is an Adley Rutschman-Twins trade that could actually happen
Again, I would not personally trade Ryan or López, but this summer's fire sale, which led to the Twins adding several more starting pitchers to the organization, suggests that a trade of Ryan or López this winter is likely. In this potential trade, the Orioles get the ace they are looking for and add outfield depth while the Twins get a strong defensive catcher with plenty of offensive upside in addition to a 2025 first-round draft pick in 21-year-old Wehiwa Aloy, who has a .903 OPS across 16 games in Single-A since being drafted, and the Orioles' best pitching prospect, per MLB Pipeline, in 18-year old Esteban Mejia.