Patience. It's not easy to have it all the time, but sometimes when you can avoid the temptation to overreact, you'll find that you get rewarded. That's definitely the case for the Boston Red Sox after Adley Rutschman's coming-out party on national TV Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.
The price to acquire Rutschman was steep, to say the least. Bouncing from one injury to another was concerning. Then there's the fact that his hyperextended elbow could hamper him for the remainder of 2026.
But by blasting two homers in his return to Baltimore, Rutschman reminded us of one key thing. Even at his worst, he's a dramatic upgrade from what Boston had behind the dish, and seeing what has happened with Carlos Narváez since the deal really nails that point home.
Adley Rutschman launches his second homer of the game in his return to Baltimore! pic.twitter.com/JMVhcZvnu7
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2026
We're going to hope that Rutschman's outburst is a sign of things to come, and not just a one-game blip. We get that he's banged up, but having him perform like the superstar he looked like earlier in his career would be game-changing for the Red Sox.
But as disappointing as the .170/.254/.245 line he carried into the September 3 contest was still a heck of a lot better than what Narváez has done since landing in Baltimore.
The 27-year-old has hit just .091/.194/.109 since arriving in his new digs. That's good for a paltry .303 OPS, which is way worse than the putrid .535 mark he put up with Boston this year. In contrast, Rutschman, who has also been at his worst since the trade, has a .638 mark. That's not exactly good, but it proves that his floor is way higher.
Carlos Narváez bottoming out with the Orioles proves that even a struggling Adley Rutschman is a Red Sox upgrade
Narváez might blame his struggles this season on not playing every day, and there's certainly some truth to losing that mental edge. But the truth of the matter is he was playing pretty much every day for the Red Sox early on in the season, and his scuffling bat was the reason that his playing time got cut down. He's played every day for Baltimore, too, and that hasn't helped him get going.
In fact, it was really around the All-Star Break last year that Narváez turned into a pumpkin. He hit just .187/.233/.387 down the stretch. Now, we can see clearly that what looked like a breakout in 2025 was merely a flash in the pan.
It makes sense. Narváez was never really known for being an offensive threat, while Rutschman was the first-overall pick in 2019. Who would you rather bet on? Again, we're not likely to see the best of Rutschman this year, aside from random bursts like Thursday, due to his injuries. Even then, he's an upgrade, and the really good news is he'll be around for 2027 as well.
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