Red Sox outbidding Yankees for Adley Rutschman feels insane after series-altering gaffe, leaked offer

Hand up: I was upset when the Yankees failed to close an Adley Rutschman trade this summer. Not gonna run from it. It felt like the momentum was all theirs until the Red Sox jumped in at the 11th hour. Craig Breslow and the Sox seemed to care more about damning the cost and going for it, edging out their rival in an arms race akin to 2003-04. Rutschman's injury woes were very real and his stats hadn't been anything special for years, but the Yankees required an upgrade behind the plate, and it was unlikely to come from within the room.

Update? Rutschman wasn't anything special, and the upgrade came from within the room.

The cherry on top of my terrible take came in the unbelievably satisfying sixth inning of Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, just after Boston's Willson Contreras left the yard by about a quarter of an inch and took 30 seconds to round the bases, motivated by the voices in his head to do something weird. It was one of two runs the Red Sox scored in the entire series.

Boston's hubris then reached its apex, as Garrett Crochet strode in from the bullpen for his first game action since April. Jake Bennett, the lefty who had perhaps owned the Yankees more than any other pitcher this season, was available, but never appeared (or was even whispered about?) in this series. Instead, it was Crochet's ball, who heaved a slider into the dirt to secure an inning-opening strikeout.

Either Rutschman was physically incapable of handling the bounce or underestimated Spencer Jones' speed. Regardless, he wasn't even close to nabbing Jones, whose sprint to first quickly became a steal of second and a dash to third on Rutschman's overthrow. Crochet faced three more batters and retired none of them, exiting his playoff run with an ERA of infinity after fighting to get back and pulling off a fake-humble, "Aw, shucks, I'd hate to steal a roster spot from my friends" gimmick ahead of the series.

Rutschman, who looped a single after a 10-pitch battle with Cam Schlittler and got endlessly praised for it on the slobbering broadcast, didn't do much else in this series. I don't know. I'd rather have Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Carlos Narvaez, and Enddy Azocar. And I'd certainly rather have what the Yankees kept instead of succumbing to the Orioles' overtures.

Orioles' rumored ask from Yankees for Adley Rutschman cements all-time Brian Cashman decision to pass on him

According to Jon Heyman, the O's pressed for Elmer Rodríguez, one of Will Warren/Ryan Weathers, Austin Wells, and emerging top prospect Yostin Pena in exchange for Rutschman's services for a year and a half. Rutschman was on the IL at the time and battled forearm issues for a significant portion of the late season.

Holy. Hell.

We knew about Rodríguez, Warren and Weathers. Swiping Wells would've been prudent for the O's, especially considering he was about to OPS .746 in August and .830 in September, paired with his already sterling defense and command of the staff. Rutschman? .500 and .845 in the same time frame.

But taking Pena as a throw-in would've been the icing on the terrible-tasting cake. He's among the biggest risers in the minors, carrying a scorching bat from the DSL to Tampa. He's going to get Top 100 love. He might be the Yankees' No. 1 prospect. All that MLB-caliber talent and ALSO Pena? Keep dreaming, Baltimore. Be happy with what you got. We'll be happier than Boston is with their decision, too.

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