A look at how the O's will try to get Adley Rutschman hitting again (plus other notes)

While the Orioles continue to work on their offseason and look to add new players to their roster, getting one already on that roster back to previous form is also on the agenda this winter.

Manager Brandon Hyde, in a phone interview Tuesday, said the club has reached out to catcher Adley Rutschman and the work to get his bat going again has begun.

Rutschman finished 12^th in the AL MVP vote in 2022 and ninth in 2023. But in 2024, his OPS dropped from .809 the previous year to .709.

Last season, on June 27, Rutschman was hitting .300 with an .830 OPS. But in his last 71 games, he batted just .189 with four homers and an OPS of .559.

“We’ve been in regular contact with Adley,” Hyde said from the Winter Meetings in Dallas. “We've put some plans in place and collaborated on some things that we feel like, that he feels like, that he wanted to kind of get back to. That kind of went away the second half. We know what kind of player he is and is going to be. We are doing a lot of things with him to get him back offensively and defensively to be the player that he is.

“I think you are going to see when he comes into camp, the player we all know he is.”

Rutschman’s first half OPS in 2024 was .780 but that fell to .585 in the second half.

“He was disappointed in how the year ended. It’s a tough business when there are expectations as a young player and things are not going your way. You have to deal with adversity and that’s okay. Honestly think he will be a better player for it. He is really driven to do so,” said Hyde.

Rutschman’s strikezone control was not as strong as 2023 when his walk percentage was 13.4 and K percentage 14.7. Last season his walk percentage was down to 9.1 and he fanned 16.1 percent.

So, what has to be different next year?

“I think his approach was a little different last year than the first couple of years,” Hyde explained. “He has always been a very patient hitter with the ability to hit the ball to all fields. You know, very selective/aggressive. He was very selective on the first pitch last year then would get over-aggressive at times on the second pitch and kind of run himself into some bad counts. I think you are going to see him get back into really good counts offensively like he did the first couple of years.

“That’s when the walks are going to show back up. He’ll get better pitches to drive. That’s been the player he’s been his whole life.”

Feeling a draft: The Orioles have the 24^th pick today in the Rule 5 draft which begins at 2 p.m. ET at the Winter Meetings. Of course, several teams will certainly pass ahead of Baltimore, not making a selection. Last year just 10 players were selected in the Major League phase of the draft and of those 10, there were six players that stuck with their teams all year.

The O’s seem unlikely to make a pick this year but the preparation for the draft has still been thorough, just in case. The O’s once took Anthony Santander in this draft and now he’s about to cash in big via free agency.

O’s vice president, pro scouting Mike Snyder has been involved with the club’s Rule 5 prep work.

“You are always comparing the level of talent in this draft with other uses for that (roster) spot, which could be waiver claims, trades, free agents. So, there is a threshold, and that threshold has probably changed in the last few years.

“You definitely have to feel like this player can help the big league team on Day One. You don’t have to be certain of that as we sit here in December. Because you have, three months essentially, where that player is on the roster and you get a little bit of a tryout period in spring training to see,” Snyder said.

“We’ve definitely gone through a number of possibilities,” said Snyder. “We have a few players that have our attention.”

Speaking of the draft, the Washington Nationals won the draft lottery yesterday and will pick first in the MLB Draft next July. The O's will pick No. 19 in round one and could have five of the first 70 picks or so. If they lost free agents Santander and Corbin Burnes (and they sign elsewhere for more than $50 million) the O's could have two comp picks in the low 30s. They would then also have their own second-round pick and a Competitive Balance Round B pick after round two, somewhere around pick No. 70 overall, give or take. 

Sasaki’s agent speaks: Joel Wolfe, the agent for recently posted pitcher Roki Sasaki from Japan, provided some indications that his client could sign with a small or mid-market team on Tuesday. He downplayed that Sasaki would have a preference for either a big market club or a west coast team.

He added that a small to mid-market club could offer “a soft landing coming from Japan given what he's been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the (Japanese) media.”

Sasaki will be signed under MLB's international rules meaning he will get a limited contract, one much smaller in dollars than the top free agents get. He is expected to sign sometime after the 2025 international signing period begins Jan. 15, 2025.

O’s vice president of international scouting and operations, Koby Perez said Sasaki was “a talent that anyone would want.”

The O’s Mike Elias was asked what his sales pitch to Sasaki might look like about the Orioles.

“Winning team. Great defense, young athletic defense. Great fanbase, great ballpark. We’ve got an exciting window ahead of us I believe with this group of players and with our ownership group and the people that we have running the organization. And, we have good pitching development. And we use the best technology and the best resources to keep our players healthy and make them better. I think it’s as good an organization as any to develop yourself but have a great chance to win. And also, you are on a big stage in the American League East and there is something exciting about that. Something special about the American League East,” said Elias.

The Yankees strike: Having lost superstar Juan Soto to the crosstown Mets, the New York Yankees unloaded some money last night on free agent pitcher Max Fried. They agreed to sign him to an eight-year deal worth $218 million. 

That contract easily tops earlier projections. MLBTradeRumors.com had Fried getting six years at $156 million. FanGraphs.com had it five years and $140 million with ESPN predicting a deal of six years and $175 million.

Also last night, free agent right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, another potential O's target, agreed to re-sign with the Texas Rangers. He is getting a three-year deal worth $75 million.