Orioles GM clears doubts about Adley Rutschman's role with Samuel Basallo on the team

Having struggled for consistency and fitness, Baltimore Orioles star Adley Rutschman has endured a difficult 2025 season. In his absence, young Samuel Basallo has shined.

As a result of his strong performances, Basallo and the Orioles agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract extension on August 22. This has led to plenty of doubts regarding Adley Rutschman's long-term future at the club. As a result of Basallo's extension, it was rumored the Orioles were open to the idea of potentially trading Rutschman in the near future.

However, as he took questions from the press on Tuesday, Orioles GM Mike Elias put those rumors to rest, claiming he still saw Adley Rutschman as the team's "frontline catcher".

"Adley's the guy. He will be our frontline catcher. Frustrating season for him, coming off a frustrating second half. He's aware of it, we're aware of it, we're all working on it. There were some injuries sprinkled in this year, that I think were a factor in him kind of getting out of sync. I thought he had a great defensive season, and he does a great job leading our pitching staff."

"So, he's a key guy for this whole thing. We're going to work with him to restore his presence in baseball, as an All-Star, but he's going to be front and center as our starting catcher," Elias said [37:40]

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Orioles GM Mike Elias explains how "there is plenty of playing time to go around" for both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo

Though both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are primarily catchers, this doesn't mean only one of the two can play at any given time.

As Elias explained during Tuesday's press conference, both players' versatility meant that there was "plent of playing time to go around" for the pair.

"We were encouraged with the way Sammy caught in the majors too, and there's definitely room to have two really good catchers at the major league level, that's a good problem to have."

"As I've talked about, Sammy and Adley can DH, and Sammy can play first base, there's a lot of playing time to go around between those two guys, and I'm glad that we have both of them together," Elias added [38:55]

New York Yankees v Baltimore Orioles - Source: Getty

With the Orioles having finished bottom of the AL East in 2025, fans will be hoping the likes of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo can lead the team back to the playoffs in 2026.