Best possible Yankees trade package for Adley Rutschman as Orioles talks heat up

The New York Yankees' trade options to improve at catcher are dropping like flies. Shea Langeliers got hurt. The perceived favorite, Ryan Jeffers, seems like he's been yanked off the market, as the Minnesota Twins are tied for the final wild card spot with the Cleveland Guardians at the time of this writing. Gary Sanchez is available now, but while the nostalgia might be cool, El Gary is not a solution either.

The best option left might be Adley Rutschman, whom the Yankees have checked in on. So, too, have the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays, both of whom desperately need help behind the plate.

Rutschman has his warts, and while that might seem like a reason to stay away, the way the market sits, things might have changed. He might just be worth the gamble, and with the Red Sox and Rays lurking, making a move for him is as much about playing defense as it is playing offense.

On the plus side, Rutschman is an elite defender. We hear about Austin Wells' defense as a reason to accept his pitiful offensive performance at times, but there's no comparison between the two when it comes to their work behind the plate. Therefore, if Rutschman can be just a league-average bat, he still has a good deal of value.

What is he worth exactly is the big question though? The Orioles are going to make the Yankees pay a "division rival tax" to make a move, so he won't come cheap. With that in mind, this is the best possible package New York should offer up.

Projecting a Yankees-Orioles trade package for Adley Rutschman

The Orioles aren't necessarily rebuilding, so far-away prospects won't have the same appeal to them as they might have to other clubs. Instead, they're trying to rebalance assets, with Samuel Basallo clearly entrenched as the future at catcher as Rutschman's control wanes.

The former first overall pick is a free agent after next season, so while he has more value than a rental, he won't command nearly as much as young star like Hunter Goodman (who comes with three additional years of team control).

The Orioles are thought to want controllable young pitching, and they might want those hurlers to also be big-league tested. They just dealt Dean Kremer and could look to move free-agent-to-be Trevor Rogers before Aug. 3. They also re-upped Kyle Bradish and aren't necessarily looking to blow it all up at the deadline.

That might lead them to ask for an arm like Will Warren or Ryan Weathers, but that should be a non-starter. Either of those two should have the value to land a bigger star than Rutschman, so trading one of them to Baltimore would be a mismanagement of assets.

Instead, they get Elmer Rodriguez, who they can insert into their rotation now to replace Kremer. While Rodriguez hasn't looked great in the spot starts he's gotten, nothing has changed regarding his ceiling as a mid-rotation starter, and he's as controllable as it gets.

Bryce Cunningham is a live arm with starter potential. He's run into some walk issues in his second season down at High-A Hudson Valley, but if he figures that out he could rise quickly and become another mid-rotation arm.

Finally, Jace Avina has become a breakout star this year with a .260/.357/.523 over 83 games at Somerset. His 19 homers are by far a career high. There's a chance that his breakthrough isn't entirely legit, but it will generate a lot of interest on the trade market anyway. Selling high on him makes a ton of sense.

This is the maximum the Yankees should offer, and it's an attractive package. New York is fortunate to have a system that's deep in arms (which are always in high demand) and should allow them to make some maneuvers like this one without giving up their best chips. That means they could theoretically pull in a catcher like Rutschman while saving enough key assets to also pull off a real blockbuster like Mason Miller or another top star.

As far as the Orioles are concerned, Brian Cashman should offer up this package for Rutschman and tell them to take it or leave it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow