Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Average drops under Mendoza Line
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Rutschman went 0-for-4 with a walk in Saturday's win over the Reds.
Rutschman began the season with hits in 12 of his first 14 outings, but he's now hitless in his last 19 at-bats to drop his batting average under the Mendoza Line at .192 on the season. However, he entered play Saturday with an elite 38.8 percent squared-up rate, per Statcast, which suggests Rutschman is still seeing the ball quite well in the early going. Fantasy managers should keep exercising patience with the switch-hitting All-Star backstop, who continues to regularly occupy a premium spot in Baltimore's lineup.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Hits first homer since Opening Day
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Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
Entering Saturday's game, Rutschman had failed to log a home run since hitting two of them on Opening Day. He ended his drought in the sixth inning, when he took Bowden Francis deep to right-center field for a 426-foot solo homer to make it a 3-3 game. Rutschman has started the season slashing .265/.357/.469 with seven walks, nine runs scored, three home runs and five RBI across 56 plate appearances.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Not starting Saturday
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Rutschman isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals.
Rutschman will get his first opportunity to rest Saturday after starting the season 8-for-31 with two homers, three RBI and six runs scored after eight games. While he's out, Gary Sanchez will catch for Tomoyuki Sugano and bat eighth.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Goes deep twice in win
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Rutschman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 12-2 win over Toronto.
After homering in the first inning off Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios, Rutschman went deep once again during the eighth frame to add to the Opening Day rout. Rutschman's hot bat in spring training appears to have carried into the regular season to begin the year, as the star backstop went 15-for-42 (.357) with three long balls and eight RBI in the Grapefruit League.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Showcases power in BP session
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Rutschman hit home runs in two live at-bats against Grayson Rodriguez and Albert Suarez during Monday's spring training workout, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Rutschman cratered down the stretch last season with a .207/.282/.303 slash line in the second half, but a long offseason to rest up, the 27-year-old catcher looked re-energized on the eve of the Orioles' first full-squad workout of camp. Perhaps in an effort to prevent Rutschman from wearing down again, the Orioles could look to build in more days off for him or deploy him as a designated hitter more frequently, after he started 100 games behind the plate in 2024 between the regular season and playoffs. Rutschman will have a new backup catcher this season, as the Orioles let James McCann walk in free agency while bringing aboard Gary Sanchez on a one-year, $8.5 million deal.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Avoids arbitration at $5.5 million
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The Orioles and Rutschman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5.5 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Rutschman receives a well-earned raise in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The switch-hitting catcher trailed off in the second half of the 2024 regular season for the Orioles but still popped 19 home runs and drove in 79 runs.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Homers in Sunday's loss
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Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Tigers.
This was Rutschman's first homer in nearly a month, and he hit just .175 (14-for-80) over 22 contests between long balls. It's been an unusually long slump for the star catcher, which has seen him drop to fifth in the order after most frequently batting second for most of the season. He's still got some time to set aim for his second straight 20-homer year -- he's one shy now while adding 76 RBI, 63 runs scored, one stolen base and a .254/.324/.400 slash line over 137 contests.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Sitting amid slump
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Rutschman is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.
The slumping Rutschman will hit the bench for the second time in the series while the Orioles and Rockies wrap up their three-game set with a day game. James McCann will get a start behind the plate in place of Rutschman, who is slashing just .202/.279/.311 with two home runs, 12 RBI and 14 runs in 36 games since the All-Star break.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Resting Friday
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Rutschman is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies.
Rutschman had started each of the Orioles' last eight games (six at catcher, two at DH) but will get the night off Friday. James McCann will fill in behind the dish while Eloy Jimenez handles DH.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Homers in return
Rotowire
Rutschman went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Red Sox.
Rutschman was scratched from the lineup Friday due to back soreness, and he didn't start Saturday, though he went 0-for-2 off the bench. This was his first homer since July 19 -- he hit a poor .216 (16-for-74) over 23 games between long balls. That rough patch has dulled the shine of Rutschman's overall stats, as he's now at a .266/.331/.428 slash line with 18 homers, 70 RBI, 59 runs scored, 16 doubles and a stolen base over 114 contests. Despite the recent struggles, Rutschman's heavy workload between catcher and designated hitter gives him ample fantasy appeal. There's also a fair chance he bounces back, as he struck out at just an 11.9 percent rate during his power drought.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Returns for series finale
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Rutschman (back) is starting at catcher and batting fifth in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Rutschman was a late scratch from Friday's lineup due to lower-back discomfort, and after sitting Saturday, he's back behind home plate for the series finale. He'll face off against Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Out of lineup
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Rutschman (back) is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox, but he is feeling better and will be available off the bench, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Rutschman was scratched from Friday's lineup with lower-back discomfort and will be held out of the starting nine for a second consecutive game. James McCann will draw another start behind the dish.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Not in Sunday's lineup
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Rutschman is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Rutschman went 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run during Saturday's contest but will sit Sunday for the second time in the series. James McCann will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Albert Suarez.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Two doubles in three-hit effort
Rotowire
Rutschman went 3-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Rays.
Rutschman has rebounded from a quiet end to July by going 9-for-28 (.321) over his first eight games in August. The catcher has added three extra-base hits and seven RBI this month, though he hasn't hit a home run since July 19. Rutschman is at a .267/.335/.429 slash line with 17 homers, 68 RBI, 58 runs scored, 16 doubles and one stolen base over 108 contests this season.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Taking seat Friday
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Rutschman is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
It's a routine day off for Rutschman, who was recently demoted from second to fifth in the Orioles' batting order. He's slashed just .162/.276/.263 since the beginning of July. James McCann will do the catching for Zach Eflin.
Rutschman is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.
Rutschman will rest Saturday after going 1-for-8 with one RBI over the first two games of the series. James McCann will start behind home plate and bat eighth against Cleveland southpaw Joey Cantillo.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Sitting out Thursday
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Rutschman isn't in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Miami.
It's a rare day off for Rutschman, who had started in each of the previous 13 games. James McCann will handle catching duties in the Orioles' series finale in Miami.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Goes deep in win
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Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's 9-1 win over the Rangers.
Rutschman stumbled into the All-Star break, going 5-for-40 (.125) with a 7:5 BB:K over his last 11 games. He made a quick impact in Texas with his first-inning homer, washing away his 0-for-2 performance during the All-Star Game in the same park. The catcher's season-long numbers have taken just a modest hit due to his recent slump -- he now has a .275/.340/.447 slash line with 17 homers, 61 RBI, 49 runs scored, one stolen base and 12 doubles through 91 contests.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Slugs 16th homer
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Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to the Athletics on Saturday.
Rutschman's three-run blast in the seventh inning didn't have much of an impact on the outcome since Oakland still led 17-4 at that point, but it may have been a momentum-shifter personally after he had collected just one hit over his previous 19 at-bats. The long ball also moved him into second place for homers among MLB catchers with 16 on the campaign. Only Oakland's Shea Langeliers -- who hit his 17th homer in the same contest Saturday -- has more home runs among big-league backstops.
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Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Idle Thursday
Rotowire
Rutschman isn't in the Orioles' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.
Rutschman will get a day to regroup Thursday after being held hitless in 13 at-bats over his last four games. James McCann will instead get the nod to start at catcher while batting ninth.
