When Adley Rutschman was promoted to the big leagues little more than two years ago, the Baltimore Orioles’ catcher became known for how he greets his pitcher coming off the mound. With his mask tucked under an armpit, Rutschman presents energy, or empathy, or encouragement, or maybe some combination of those — more often than not, a hug. Whatever is needed in the moment.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde values these people skills — not to mention Rutschman’s other abilities as a catcher. But Hyde has demonstrated that with Rutschman, a priority in his planning to make sure that his offensive skills are part of his batting order as often as possible.
“I’m trying to keep him as fresh as possible defensively,” Hyde said, as part of a conversation that began in March about how he chooses to deploy Rutschman. “But he’s also Adley Rutschman offensively, and we feel it when his bat’s not in the lineup.”
Rutschman was batting .300 through Thursday’s game, with 95 hits, 15 homers and an Adjusted OPS+ of 140. Few catchers anchor a lineup in the way that Rutschman does for the Orioles. Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was usually the most important hitter for the New York Mets in his eight years with that team, and never played more than 141 games, in years before National League teams did not have daily access to the designated hitter. Buster Posey often hit third or fourth for the Giants, and in 2015, he played in a career-high 150 games, sometimes at first base. Salvador Perez, a recent outlier, played 161 games in 2021, 122 of those at catcher.
Rutschman played in 154 games last season, and in the first half of 2024, he has been in the lineup almost every game — 77 of the team’s 81 games. He hits in the No. 2 spot, or, very occasionally, as the leadoff hitter, with Hyde willing to use him at a catcher a little less to ensure that he’s available to DH.
“It’s been a process over the last two years figuring out what’s best,” Rutschman said. “He obviously puts a lot of thought into it, which I appreciate.”
In fact, the past two years have included a steady dialogue between Rutschman and Hyde and the Baltimore staff — transparent conversations about how Rutschman is feeling, and whether he might benefit from more time at DH. These discussions are parallel to those that occurred in recent seasons to those between Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels, as the player and team tried to find the best path that would give him the most success as a two-way player
Hyde said that the majority of the time, it’s the manager who initiates the conversation about a game at DH or even a day off.
“Because he still doesn’t like sitting,” Hyde said. “But he also understands it. He understands he does need time or breaks on occasion. We talk about it …”
Hyde chuckled. “But it’s usually I’m the one who’s going to him.”
“It’s my job to play,” Rutschman said. “At the end of the day, I’m always available to play — which is always the way you’ve always been taught to play. It’s a tough thing to balance, in my mind, in players’ mind.”
Last year, Rutschman caught 110 games, and this season, he’s on pace to be behind the plate a little less. (In the team’s first 81 games, he started at catcher in 49 and as DH in 27). Hyde said there’s not a specific target, but said that he felt Rutschman’s 2023 workload “worked out really, really well. He felt good at the end of the year. So that’s sort of my goal — have him in the lineup as much as possible, with giving him the right off days, letting his body recover.”
In making his plans, Hyde will look ahead about 10 days, he estimates, in trying to figure out when he’ll use Rutschman at catcher and when he could be a DH, with a number of variables in play — the travel schedule, the opposing team’s starting pitcher, the Orioles’ starter. Hyde will also factor in the feedback that he’s getting from Rutschman about how he’s feeling. As Rutschman has gotten more time in the big leagues, Hyde said before the season, he offers opinions more freely about what days might be best for him to catch and when it could be more beneficial for him to DH.