Just over a week after they traded for him at the deadline, Adley Rutschman is set to join the Boston Red Sox. The catcher will be activated from the 10-day injured list before the club's August 11 game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Rutschman has been out of commission since July 19 with wrist inflammation. He played a two-game rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox and logged one hit (a double), two runs, two RBI, two walks and a strikeout. He also made one of his typical, top-notch caught stealing plays from behind the dish.
Rutschman's bat should be an immediate shock to the Red Sox's lineup after months of suboptimal production from the catcher slot. Carlos Narváez, whom Boston traded to the Baltimore Orioles as part of its package for Rutschman, took a serious step back at the plate this season (.187/.260/.275 over 62 games with Boston). Connor Wong has been better offensively (.247/.333/.367 over 60 games), but he's still a defensive liability (-4 DRS, -6 FRV).
But Boston has to make a roster move to activate him. Rutschman was added to the 40-man roster on trade deadline day, but the Sox need to make space on their active roster, which will be a tough decision since the entire lineup worked so well together during the club's historic heater.
Red Sox could option Connor Wong or DFA Jake Rogers to activate Adley Rutschman ahead of Boston debut
Red Sox interim skipper Chad Tracy seems reluctant to carry three catchers, especially since Wong's offensive impact varies so much and defensive skills are subpar. Wong has one minor league option on his contract, which the Sox could use to get Rutschman up to the big leagues.
The Red Sox could also go a riskier route by designating newly-acquired Jake Rogers for assignment. Rogers doesn't have any options left so a DFA is Boston's only option if it hopes to keep Wong around instead of him (unless it goes the three-catcher route). Rogers has been a worse hitter than Wong this year with a slash line similar to Narváez's (.183/.290/.327) but he's a slightly better defender (-3 DRS, FRV).
Boston needs all its infielders at the moment while Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are on the injured list. Nick Sogard has been an overall solid player every time the Sox call him up, Andruw Monasterio is on a heater, as is Anthony Seigler, and Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin are indispensable. The Red Sox moving on from one of their three catchers seems like the easiest option, particularly since Wong has an option.
Another case for optioning Wong is that Seigler came up through the minor leagues as a catcher. He's posted 1514.2 innings behind the dish over parts of eight seasons in the minor leagues, and though he's out of practice, he could fill the catcher role in an emergency.
Between optioning Wong and DFA'ing Rogers, the first option sustains more depth and keeps a better hitting catcher than Rogers in the Sox's system. If things go south with Rogers' production or either he or Rutschman falls injured, Boston could call Wong back up with no issue.
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