Despite Adley Rutschman's subpar showings, Orioles GM shares why it's least of his worries

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has declined since the middle of last season, if the stats are to be believed. However, Orioles GM Mike Elias isn't worried about Rutschman.

The 27-year-old was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB draft and debuted for the Orioles in the 2022 season. He earned All-Star selections in his next two seasons and won All-MLB First Team selection in 2023.

Elias shared his thoughts about Rutschman on New York Post Sports' "The Show" on Tuesday, hosted by veteran MLB insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman.

"You know, this spring so far, I mean spring training, but also the first whatever, five weeks we're in, I think he's looked much, much every bit of his old self. I mean, I know the stats aren't there. The walk rate is up, back up to where it normally is. If you look at the batted ball metrics, his at-bats have been good," Elias said [29:49].

The 42-year-old attributed Rutschman's struggles to bad luck and expects that the 27-year-old would play much better by the end of the current season.

"You know, with all the things that have been breaking against us, I think him having some bad luck has been tough to add to the mix early in the year, given how important he is to our offense," Elias added.

The GM said that Rutschman is the team's lynchpin, and being the great player the All-Star catcher is, he has no worries. Moreover, Elias boldly predicted that the 27-year-old's stats by the end of the 2025 season will be like those of the seasons he earned All-Star selections.

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Orioles GM shares thoughts about Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday

In addition to Adley Rutschman, another player who is the team's cornerstone is Gunnar Henderson, whom MLB insider Jeff Passan predicted would land a $600M contract during his free agency.

Since Henderson will become an unrestricted free agent in a few years, insiders asked Mike Elias about the star shortstop's future.

"He is one of these guys. I mean, look, you look at our current contract with him and the control that we have from his reserve, so to speak, from the draft, you'd love to have a guy longer than that. And I'll leave it at that. I don't like to, um, you know, talk about this stuff out of turn, " Elias said [28:51].

As for Jackson Holliday, the 42-year-old hailed the 2022 No.1 MLB draft pick for his transition into second base due to Henderson being at shortstop, Holliday's preferred position. Despite the setbacks, Elias claimed he has immense faith in the 21-year-old and believes their decision to draft him No. 1 for the Orioles won't fail.