When Adley Rutschman broke into the major leagues a little over two years ago, the Baltimore Orioles catcher became known for the way he greets his pitcher as he comes off the mound. With his mask tucked under his armpit, Rutschman exudes energy, empathy, encouragement, or perhaps a combination of the three—most often a hug. Whatever is needed at the moment.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde values those interpersonal skills — not to mention Rutschman's other skills as a catcher. But Hyde has shown with Rutschman that making sure his offensive skills are part of his batting order as often as possible is a priority in his scheduling.
“I try to keep him as fresh as possible on defense,” Hyde said during a conversation that began in March about how he plans to use Rutschman. “But on offense, he's also Adley Rutschman, and we feel it when his bat isn't in use.”
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Rutschman had a .300 batting average through Thursday's game, with 95 hits, 15 home runs and an Adjusted OPS+ of 140. Few catchers are as important an anchor of a lineup as Rutschman is with the Orioles. Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was usually the primary hitter in his eight years with the New York Mets, never playing more than 141 games in the years before National League teams didn't have daily access to the designated hitter. Buster Posey often batted third or fourth for the Giants, and in 2015 he played in a career-high 150 games, sometimes at first base. Salvador Perez, an outlier of recent times, played 161 games in 2021, 122 of them as a catcher.
Rutschman played in 154 games last season and has appeared in nearly every game in the first half of 2024 – 77 of the team's 81 games. He bats at No. 2 or, very rarely, as a leadoff hitter, with Hyde willing to use him as a catcher a little less often to ensure he's available to DH.
“It's been a process that's taken the last two years for me to figure out what's best,” Rutschman said. “He obviously puts a lot of thought into it, which I appreciate.”
In fact, there has been a steady dialogue between Rutschman and Hyde and the Baltimore team over the past two years – open conversations about how Rutschman feels and whether more time as a DH would benefit him. These discussions run parallel to those that have taken place over the past few seasons between Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels, as the player and team tried to find the best path that would bring him the most success as a two-way player.
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Hyde said that in most cases, it is 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 that he needs time or breaks occasionally. We talk about it…”
Hyde giggled. “But I'm usually the one who goes to him.”
“It's my job to play,” Rutschman said. “At the end of the day, I'm always ready to play – that's how I've always been taught. It's difficult to balance that, in my opinion and in the eyes of the players.”
Last year, Rutschman played 110 games at catcher, and this season he's on pace to be behind the plate a little less. (In the team's first 81 games, he started 49 at catcher and 27 as DH.) Hyde said there's no specific goal, but he feels Rutschman's workload in 2023 “worked really, really well. He felt good at the end of the year. So that's kind of my goal — to have him in the lineup as much as possible, give him the right days off so his body can recover.”
In making his plans, Hyde will look about 10 days ahead, he estimates, to figure out when to use Rutschman as a catcher and when as a DH, with a number of variables at play – the travel schedule, the opposing team's starting pitcher, the Orioles' starter. Hyde will also consider feedback he gets from Rutschman about how he feels. Because Rutschman has spent more time in the big leagues, Hyde says he's more outspoken about his opinions before the season about which days he's best at catching and which days he might be better off playing as a DH.
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But those plans, Hyde said, are all just penciled in because they can change based on ever-changing circumstances — if Rutschman has to be used as a relief hitter and finishes the game as catcher, there are extra innings, there are weather delays or postponements, or the opponent's rotation changes. While Rutschman was working behind the plate in Thursday's game, he was struck on his throwing hand by a ball hit back at him. Although X-rays for a possible fracture showed no fracture, he was out of action Friday [for just the fifth time all year].
As Hyde weighs his options, he will also consider the best possible opponents for James McCann, the Orioles' other catcher who has historically hit better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed ones.
Over the past two seasons, Rutschman's power production has been better when he's served as a DH. In his career as a catcher, he's hit 27 home runs in 247 games. In his 96 starts as a DH, he's hit 20 home runs, with a slugging percentage nearly 170 points higher than when he was a catcher. When Rutschman has had a lot of catcher's load, Hyde says, he can sometimes see the effects in Rutschman's offense.
“If he [caught] “Four days out of five, I can just tell,” Hyde said. “Nobody in the Northeast is going to catch fresh in the summer. I try to gauge it and communicate with him, and we manage as best we can.”
When Rutschman was in college, he admitted, it wasn't his habit to tell athletic trainers about days when he wasn't feeling so good or was struggling with a minor issue. “I feel like I've gotten better at that,” Rutschman said. “But you still want to play.”
On Thursday, Hyde spoke by phone about the Orioles' intense schedule in June – Baltimore will play 29 of the 30 days this month – and explained why he's used Rutschman more often as a DH. In July, that routine will slow down: The Orioles have a day off on Monday. [although they are flying to Seattle overnight after their “Sunday Night Baseball” game against the Texas, cutting into their down time] and then they have one more day off on July 8 before the All-Star break begins. With that rest, Hyde expects to use Rutschman more aggressively at catcher in the coming month.
But that plan could change, he adds, because of rain, because the game drags on into the 12th or 13th inning, because of a foul, or simply because Hyde or one of his coaches has a feeling of intuition.
Toward the end of his career, Posey learned to tweak his game preparation to put less stress on his body. Toward the end of Posey's time in the major leagues, former Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens said Posey only needed 10 at-bats in batting practice to be ready. Hyde believes Rutschman is learning to make similar adjustments.
“He's a worker,” Hyde said. “Now that he's got his first full major league year under his belt, he understands the calendar and what it takes. I think he'll have a much better handle on his swings and his extra stuff.”
