The Boston Red Sox went above and beyond ahead of the 2026 trade deadline to capitalize on an underwhelming and wide-open American League. Their biggest deal was arguably the biggest of the deadline — yes, even more so than the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitiful trade package for Tarik Skubal — and it sent the organization's No. 2, 4 and 5 prospects to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for catcher Adley Rutschman.
The catcher came heavily taxed, as he's a three-time All-Star from a division rival. Any way you slice it, Carlos Narváez, Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon and Enddy Azocar are a high price to pay for someone who hasn't had a good offensive season since 2023. But Rutschman is a clear offensive upgrade over Narváez (.185/.262/.272) and an elite defender at a premier position. An overpay of this extent is a risk you take with a wide open path to the postseason.
But the price of three top five prospects, particularly from a farm system as deep as the Red Sox's, should buy them at least a few years of control on the player they traded for. Rutschman is under contract until after the 2027 season, but that doesn't mean much.
MLB owners and the Players' Association (MLBPA) are set to renew their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) this coming offseason. Given the proposals the league has made, these negotiations will go nowhere fast.
Expected 2027 lockout will shorten Adley Rutschman's time with the Red Sox, therefore improving the Orioles' return
Owners have proposed a salary cap and floor, the floor being higher than nearly half the league's payroll already (meaning they could be spending that amount of money now with no issue). They've proposed a complete overhaul of the draft process that would turn colleges into prospect development centers for the sole purpose of saving money and time. There's about as much chance of the players agreeing to that as the Rockies making the playoffs this season.
Of course, renewing the CBA is a negotiation process and the two sides know they'll have to find a way to meet in the middle, but that could take months. The negotiations are widely expected to lead to a lockout, and some execs have gone as far as saying they don't expect baseball to be played at all next season. Meanwhile, the final year of Rutschman's contract will tick on.
Three top five prospects are no small price to pay for an offensively regressing player whose final year of team control isn't guaranteed, especially when his Red Sox tenure begins on the injured list (for the third time this year, no less). While there's no way to be sure that the prospects Boston gave up would've panned out in the big leagues, as many do not, a return of that level should net more than half a year of service time and a big question mark.
There's no guarantee that a lockout will happen or that it'll last the whole season, but the risk of Rutschman's deal can be mitigated with a contract extension (subscripiton required). The Red Sox traded four popular top prospects to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Garrett Crochet and that deal has aged incredibly well — not just because Crochet had a stellar 2025 season, but because Boston extended him swiftly.
Extending Rutschman should become a priority to avoid giving three high-potential prospects to a division rival for a short return. If there's a lockout and Rutschman goes unextended, the Orioles will have robbed the Red Sox blind.
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