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Adley Rutschman

Orioles Place Adley Rutschman On Injured List With Oblique Strain

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For the second time in three months, an oblique strain has sent Adley Rutschman to the injured list. Baltimore placed the switch-hitting catcher on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 18, due to a right oblique injury. Outfielder Daniel Johnson is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take the vacated roster spot.

Rutschman missed five weeks between mid-June and the end of July with a left oblique strain. He’s now dealing with an injury to the opposite side. Interim skipper Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun) that it’s a “mild” strain. That’d seem to give Rutschman a shot to return this season, but even minor oblique strains usually cost a hitter a few weeks.

This has been a career-worst season for the two-time All-Star. Rutschman is batting .227/.310/.373 in 348 plate appearances. It’s his first subpar offensive showing in his four-year career. Last season’s .250/.318/.391 line was only narrowly better than average. Rutschman’s bat has fallen off since his excellent first two seasons.

The declining production comes as top catching prospect Samuel Basallo reaches the big leagues. Baltimore promoted the 21-year-old on Sunday. Basallo has started one game apiece at catcher and designated hitter. The initial plan was for Rutschman and Basallo to split catching work with a decent amount of DH at-bats for the rookie. Basallo will now be the #1 catcher while Rutschman is on the shelf. The youngster’s bat has long been ahead of his glove. A few weeks of regular reps behind the plate won’t entirely wipe away concerns about Basallo’s defense, but it should be a good developmental opportunity.

Baltimore was already operating with three catchers on the active roster. They didn’t want to lose the out-of-options Alex Jackson when they called up Basallo. Jackson will back him up for the time being. That meant they could add an extra outfielder, Johnson, in the corresponding move rather than bringing up another catcher.

Orioles Designate Jacob Stallings For Assignment

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today. Left-hander Keegan Akin and catcher Adley Rutschman have each been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, the O’s optioned right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo to Triple-A Norfolk and designated catcher Jacob Stallings for assignment.

Stallings, 35, was released by the Rockies last month. The O’s were dealing with a few injuries to their catching corps and brought him into the fold via a minor league deal to add some veteran depth behind the plate.

They called Stallings up to the big league squad at the start of July when Chadwick Tromp hit the injured list, joining Rutschman and Maverick Handley on the shelf. Gary Sánchez also hit the IL a few days later, which got Alex Jackson onto the roster.

Stallings got into 14 games for the O’s this month and stepped to the plate 36 times but produced a .114/.139/.143 line in that time. He has a solid reputation for his defense and work with a pitching staff but hasn’t been hitting all year. He now has a combined .134/.195/.168 line in 129 plate appearances between the Rockies and O’s this season. Jackson, meanwhile, has hit three homers in 26 plate appearances for a .269/.269/.769 line. He won’t keep that going forever but he’s been better than Stallings and is several years younger as well.

Jackson will hang onto his roster spot and form the catching duo with Rutschman while Stallings heads into DFA limbo. Given his performance this year, Stallings should clear waivers and will be able to elect free agency. The Rockies signed him to a $2.5MM deal for this year and remain on the hook for the majority of that because they released him. Any other club could sign Stallings and pay him just the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, as the O’s just did.

The return of Akin is also somewhat notable as he is a theoretical trade candidate. He can be retained via arbitration for 2026 and isn’t a strict rental but the O’s could be open to trading in the next few days. Dating back to the start of 2022, Akin has thrown 222 innings for Baltimore with a 3.65 earned run average, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. He has earned three saves and 24 holds in that span.

That performance on its own would make Akin an attractive arm. The fact that he’s left-handed, making just $1.475MM this year and controllable for another season only adds to the appeal. On the other hand, his strikeout and walk rates are down to 23.3% and 11% this year, respectively. He’s been on the IL for almost a month due to left shoulder inflammation. Perhaps that injury explains his struggles but also might tamp down trade interest. The Orioles could put him into a few games over the next few days to demonstrate his health to potential suitors.

Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images

Orioles Place Adley Rutschman On 10-Day Injured List

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June 22: Rutschman isn’t expected to return until after the All-Star break, Mansolino told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN).

June 21: The Orioles announced this afternoon that catcher Adley Rutschman is being placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Catcher Maverick Handley was recalled to the majors to replace Rutschman on the roster.

The news comes after Rutschman was a late scratch on Friday due to what the Orioles termed at the time as “abdominal tightness.” Manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that Rutschman went for an MRI this morning. Evidently, that round of testing revealed a strained oblique for the switch-hitting backstop. A two-time All-Star and decorated hitter currently in the midst of his fourth season in the majors, Rutschman is hitting just .227/.319/.372 with a 100 wRC+ that clocks in as precisely league average.

That could be construed as very concerning given that Rutschman also suffered a down year (104 wRC+) in 2024, but the good news is that Rutschman’s underlying performance (.350 xwOBA) substantially outstrips his actual production (.309 wOBA) so far this season. He’s walking more than last year, sporting the best barrel rate (8.6%) of his career, and his paltry .247 BABIP is certain to increase if given time. More concerning than his offensive numbers is that he’s been rather pedestrian behind the plate defensively this year according to advanced metrics, but defensive metrics are notoriously fickle and it wouldn’t be a shock to see those numbers recover over the long-term either.

Of course, Rutschman will now need to get healthy and return to the field in order to make good on those projected improvements. It’s not yet clear exactly how long Rutschman is expected to miss, though oblique strains can be quite difficult for position players to bounce back from quickly due to the rotational nature of hitting. Even fairly mild strains can often take upwards of a month of recovery, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Rutschman out of commission until after the All-Star break. In the meantime, it’s clear that the Orioles will lean on a tandem of Gary Sanchez and Handley. Sanchez has made it into just 17 games this year after dealing with injuries of his own, but is slashing a respectable .217/.298/.433 (101 wRC+) with 32 homers in 598 plate appearances dating back to the 2023 campaign. Handley, meanwhile, made his big league debut earlier this year and has hit just .075/.136/.075 in 15 games as a big leaguer.

Handley’s lackluster performance will naturally create some attention on top catching prospect Samuel Basallo, who has long been considered one of the best prospects in the entire game. Mansolino largely shut down the idea that Basallo could be an option to come up any time soon, however. As noted by Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner, Mansolino said that he hopes to see Basallo “absolutely destroy Triple-A in all facets of the game” before joining the big league club, and that he’ll be on the radar for a big league call-up once he “knocks the door down.”

It’s hard to argue that Basallo isn’t already knocking on the door pretty strongly, at least from an offensive perspective. The 20-year-old has an absurd .266/.374/.589 slash line with the club’s Norfolk affiliate this year, good for a 151 wRC+. He’s hit 15 homers in just 46 games while walking at a phenomenal 14.4% clip. With that being said, he’s only caught 15 games this season after dealing with hamstring and elbow issues early in the year that cost him games and limited him to DH even when he was healthy enough to play. Given that reality and Basallo’s shaky grades behind the plate defensively from some scouts, it’s not necessarily a shock that the Orioles would want to see a larger sample of their top prospect’s work behind the dish before promoting him to the majors.

The Orioles’ Long-Term Catching Situation

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Things aren’t going well for the Orioles, to state the obvious. They currently have a record of 26-38. They are 8.5 games back of the final American League Wild Card spot. They are behind every A.L. team apart from the White Sox and Athletics. FanGraphs puts Baltimore’s playoff odds at 3.1%. Baseball Prospectus is slightly more optimistic at 9.7%.

Barring a surge in the next few weeks, they will go into the trade deadline as sellers. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the club is viewing things that way, unsurprisingly. That’s a disappointing outcome but it also presents opportunities.

Teams on the fringes of contention often have to answer tough questions about how aggressively to attack the deadline. Diving in headfirst as a buyer has short-term appeal but runs the risk of investing in a flawed team while hampering the club in the future. Trying to walk a fine line between buying and selling can sometimes end up as a half measure that doesn’t fully work in either direction.

The O’s should have a more straightforward approach. While they will be sellers, there is still a lot of young talent in the system and on the big league roster. The general strategy should be to move guys with dwindling control while keeping the long-term pieces with an eye towards contending again in 2026. Ramón Urías and/or Ryan O’Hearn could be traded, making more room for Coby Mayo at the infield corners. Cedric Mullins should be flipped, opening playing time for the club’s many young outfielders such as Jud Fabian or Enrique Bradfield.

Another interesting name who should be in the mix is Samuel Basallo. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2021, he got a healthy $1.3MM bonus. Since then, he has continued to climb prospect rankings with his excellent work in the minors. In 364 games on the farm to this point, Basallo has a combined .282/.364/.489 batting line and 134 wRC+. That includes a .252/.365/.595 line and 148 wRC+ at Triple-A this year. He has 13 home runs in just 39 games. His 25% strikeout rate is a bit high, but his 14.7% walk rate is almost double the league average.

There have been some question marks about his defense over the years, but prospect evaluators feel he has improved as he has aged. He is still only 20 years old and won’t turn 21 until August. Baseball America currently lists him as the #17 prospect in baseball. MLB Pipeline has him at #16. Keith Law of The Athletic just did a midseason update and had Basallo at #4. Coming into the year, ESPN had him at #17 and FanGraphs at #5.

The Orioles have one of the most talented catchers in baseball in Adley Rutschman, though he’s has been in a slump for almost a year now. The first overall pick of the 2019 draft, Rutschman was doing everything according to plan in his first few years in the big leagues.

From 2022-23, Rutschman hit 33 home runs, drew walks at a 13.6% clip and only struck out 16.2% of the time. His .268/.369/.439 line lead to a 130 wRC+, indicating he was 30% better than league average at the plate. The defense also received strong reviews. FanGraphs credited him with 11.3 wins above replacement over those two seasons, tops among all big league catchers in that time. That number doesn’t even account for intangibles, with Rutschman often complimented for his clubhouse leadership and work with a pitching staff.

For the first half of 2024, Rutschman continued on that pace. Through June 26th, he had a .297/.350/.470 line and 135 wRC+. On June 27th, he was hit on his right hand by a foul tip and had that hand wrapped up after the game, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (video clip of the play from MLB.com, though the announcer accidentally refers to Rutschman as James McCann). Maybe the timing is a coincidence, but Rutschman hasn’t been the same since. He sat out the club’s game on June 28th but was back in there on the 29th. He slashed .189/.279/.280 for a 63 wRC+ in the rest of the season.

Here in 2025, the two-time All-Star been better but not back to his previous self. Rutschman has a .227/.321/.374 line and 103 wRC+ this year. Some of that may be luck. He has a .250 batting average on balls in play this season, which is well below his previous level and this year’s .290 league average. His 90.8 miles per hour average exit velocity is actually a career high. His 9.4% barrel rate and 40.9% hard-hit rate are also personal bests.

His batted ball metrics were down in the second half of 2024. Perhaps the most logical explanation is that Rutschman wasn’t 100% healthy after taking that foul tip last year, whereas he’s been mostly healthy but unlucky so far in 2025. He’s had a few knocks this year but has avoided the injured list. Maybe his results will even out in the long run and this dip will eventually look like a footnote. For what it’s worth, I personally think that’s the best and most likely explanation.

Even if Rutschman’s slump was just a blip and he’s back to his old self, the Orioles will still likely have to make some decisions about their plans behind the plate.  Rutschman is now just over two years away from free agency, as he’s slated to hit the open market after the 2027 season. Despite a late-May call up in 2022, he earned a full year of service by finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. There hasn’t been any indication that an extension is especially likely. With 2025 trending toward being a lost cause, the O’s may only have two more real bites of the apple with Rutschman.

There’s also Basallo’s health to consider. Though he continues mashing the ball, he has dealt with some injuries, including a hamstring issue and some elbow inflammation. Those issues, particularly the latter, have cut into his ability to get work behind the plate. In order to get him regular plate appearances, the O’s have put him at first base and in the designated hitter slot with some frequency. This year, he has 17 starts as a DH, nine at first and 11 behind the plate. He only has 90 innings in the catcher position this year. Last year, he had 35 starts as the DH, 32 at first base and 56 as the catcher.

That means it’s not a strict either/or situation. It’s entirely possible to imagine a scenario wherein Rutschman and Basallo share the catching duties and the DH slot while Basallo also gets some time at first base. Gary Sánchez was the planned backup to Rutschman this year, but he’s largely been hurt and is an impending free agent regardless. O’Hearn is an impending free agent as well. Ryan Mountcastle can be controlled through 2026 but looks like a non-tender candidate since he was having a poor year and is now going to be on the IL for months. Mayo could take over at first next year with Jordan Westburg at third base. Urias might still be on the roster next year, but the likely departures of O’Hearn and Mountcastle will free up some plate appearances.

Basallo’s bat will seemingly be good enough to play anywhere, but his offensive contributions will be more valuable if he can be a regular catcher. The Orioles might prefer to use the first base and DH spots for Mayo and their many young outfielders. If the O’s wanted to open the catcher position for Basallo, there might be some temptation to consider trading Rutschman.

Doing so this summer is not likely. Trading catchers midseason can be difficult because the backstop would have to learn an entirely new pitching staff on the fly. There’s also the fact that Rutschman’s value is likely down, on account of last year’s struggles and this year’s slow start. As referenced earlier, better days may be ahead, so waiting may be the smart play. With Basallo still a work in progress, there shouldn’t be short-term urgency to get a deal done.

But over the next few years, it’s possible that the pressure builds. Basallo coming up to the majors this year is totally viable, especially if the O’s sell off some pieces at the deadline and open up playing time. If he can hit big league pitching and continues maturing defensively, his viability as a major league catcher will grow. All the while, Rutschman’s window of control will be narrowing. As mentioned, he’s now about two and a half seasons from the open market. He’s making $5.5MM this year and will be due two more raises in arbitration.

As the window of control shrinks and his salary grows, his trade value will drop. That’s a tricky balance the O’s will have to consider. They have long had a big collection of position player talent but have struggled to have enough starting pitching. They have increased spending a bit in the past year but still haven’t made massive investments in the rotation, which has contributed to their unraveling this year.

Trading Rutschman and handing the catching duties to Basallo would certainly be a massive risk right now. But over time, perhaps it starts to look less risky, depending on how Basallo dives into the major league waters.

For other clubs, Rutschman would certainly hold appeal. Free agency usually isn’t a great place to find catching solutions. Backstops tend to show their age a bit more quickly than other players, due to the demands of the position. By the time players get to free agency, they are usually around 30 years old. Rutschman is now 27 and will be 28 and 29 in his final two arbitration seasons.

It’s practically a given that there would be teams willing to surrender controllable starting pitching to acquire Rutschman down the road. If so, the O’s will have to think about the perfect time to make that strike. Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton are all slated for free agency this winter, so the rotation should be the club’s primary target again in the coming offseason, even with Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish coming back from injuries.

There are no easy answers here and there are still many different ways it could go. But whenever Basallo does come up, he will start to get tested and the O’s will gradually get more clarity on who he can be. As that is happening, the window will be slowly shutting on the Rutschman era, barring a surprise extension. As those strings unravel simultaneously, decisions will have to be made.

Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Kim Klement Neitzel, and D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Latest On Orioles’ Extension Candidates

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Orioles fans have been pining for long-term extensions for some of their young core, but thus far there’s been little indication that they’re pursuing such commitments. Part of that stemmed from the fact that the franchise was up for sale. We’re now more than a year into David Rubenstein’s tenure as Orioles owner, and while they’ve spent more money on the whole, it’s primarily been on one-year deals for free agents. (Tyler O’Neill’s three-year deal is a notable exception, though that contains an opt-out clause after the 2025 season and thus could end being a one-year deal as well.)

General manager Mike Elias commented on the matter yesterday, suggesting he’d be “more revelatory” on the subject of extensions than in the past, but still spoke in generalities (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).

“This is something we’re working on,” Elias said to the Orioles beat. “There’s guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they’re currently slated for. It’s not a point-and-shoot thing. It’s case by case. There’s different players, different skill levels, different representatives, different philosophies around how to handle players at different age levels. … There’s only so much I can say about it other than it’s something we want to do if it makes sense, that we are working on it and if it happens, we’ll be out here talking about it.”

A large portion of the focus on potential extension candidates in Baltimore centers around young stars like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg — and understandably so. But Cedric Mullins — the Orioles’ longest-tenured player and a cornerstone throughout their rise from rebuilder to contender in the AL East — is in the final year of club control and would stand as a logical extension candidate himself, at least on paper. Agent Robin Cope tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that the team has not broached the possibility of an extension, even though Mullins himself “wishes they would.”

Mullins himself followed up on Cope’s comments. Asked today by the O’s beat about his agent’s statement (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner), Mullins replied: “One hundred percent. Just being drafted by Baltimore and just knowing what Baltimore and the city offered me and my family over the course of my career has been nothing short of amazing. So to have those negotiations take place, it’s all in timing. But right now, focused on the day-to-day of bringing wins to the clubhouse.”

The 30-year-old Mullins has spent his entire career with the Orioles organization, dating back to his selection in the 13th round of the 2015 draft. Though he never garnered fanfare from national prospect rankings, he established himself as an All-Star caliber center fielder. Since cementing his place in the Orioles’ lineup back in 2020, Mullins is a .259/.327/.442 hitter. He peaked with a 30-30 season and .291/.360/.518 batting line in 2021, taking home a Silver Slugger Award and landing ninth in MVP voting during what’s still the lone All-Star campaign of his career.

Mullins may never get back to those heights again, but he’s doing his best to get there with a massive start to his 2025 campaign: .300/.435/.620 with four homers, three steals and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (11) through his first 62 turns at the plate. That builds off a big finish to his 2024 campaign. After a brutally slow start in April and May, Mullins regained his footing and finished as one of the most productive hitters in the American League. Over his past 370 plate appearances, he’s batting .280/.371/.497 with 16 homers and 23 plate appearances.

Looking back at recent extensions using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there haven’t been too many examples of outfielders — or position players in general — signing extensions this close to free agency and at this age. Tommy Edman’s deal with the Dodgers (four years, $64.5MM in new money) stands as the most recent parallel. Stretching back a bit further, Charlie Blackmon’s first extension with the Rockies guaranteed him $94MM in new money over a five-year period.

Free agency offers a few more points of comparison, but it’s increasingly rare for center fielders to make it to market before signing an extension. Dexter Fowler (five years, $82.5MM), Lorenzo Cain (five years, $80MM) and AJ Pollock (four years, $60MM) all signed for $15-16MM annual range, beginning with their age-31 seasons. Each of those contracts is more than five years old at this point, however. Starling Marte secured a weightier $19.5MM AAV on a four-year deal beginning with his age-33 season. George Springer’s six-year, $150MM contract covers his age-31 through age-36 seasons, but was a more accomplished hitter than Mullins.

Given the lack of discussions to this point, it seems likely that Mullins will reach free agency. He’d be a clear candidate for a qualifying offer and would likely reject that one-year figure in search of a multi-year deal. The O’s have Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and perhaps O’Neill all in the outfield mix beyond the current season, plus prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers in the upper minors. That gives the team a good bit of outfield talent to build around if Mullins departs. In order to keep him, they’d surely need to spend well beyond their recent comfort levels. Baltimore hasn’t given out a contract worth more than $50MM since signing Alex Cobb back in 2018, under not only a different owner but also a different front office regime.

Julio Rodríguez Tops 2023 Pre-Arb Bonus Pool

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Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez will receive $1,865,349 from the $50MM bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, the highest of the 2023 recipients, per a report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. The AP later released a full list of bonus recipients.

A notable new element of the current collective bargaining agreement is that $50MM is to be taken from central revenues annually and distributed to players that have not yet qualified for arbitration. Certain portions of the money are to be based on awards voting:

  • Rookie of the Year: $750K for first place, $500K for second place
  • MVP and Cy Young: $2.5MM for first place, $1.75MM for second place, $1.5MM for third place, $1MM for fourth or fifth place
  • All-MLB: $1MM for being named “First Team,” $500K for being named “Second Team”

As Blum highlights today, a player is eligible to receive the bonus for one of those achievements per year, earning only the highest amount. Rodríguez finished fourth in American League MVP voting, meaning he got $1MM for that, which accounted for the majority of his payout. After the bonuses, the remainder of the pool is divided on a percentage basis among the top 100 players based on the joint MLB/MLBPA-created version of WAR.

Players are still eligible even if they have signed extensions, as long as they would have been pre-arb without signing such a deal. Rodríguez and the Mariners signed a convoluted extension towards the end of his rookie season in 2022 but he’s only at two years of service time now. Since he would have been pre-arb without that extension, he was able to top this year’s pool.

The following 10 players got more than $1MM:

Last year, Dylan Cease got the biggest slice of the 2022 pie, taking home $2,457,426.

Shohei Ohtani Wins AL MVP

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Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has been voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League for 2023, per an announcement from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers were second and third in the voting, respectively.

The news hardly comes as a surprise, with Ohtani having delivered another two-way season for the Angels in which the only precedent was himself. He made 23 starts as a pitcher, tossing 132 innings with an earned run average of 3.14. His 10.4% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 31.5% of batters faced. Among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched on the year, only Spencer Strider punched out opponents at a greater rate.

As a hitter, he launched 44 home runs and drew walks at a 15.2% clip. His .304/.412/.654 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 180, indicating he was 80% better overall than the average hitter. He accomplished all of these things despite having his season cut short by injury. Due to some finger issues and then a torn UCL, he only tossed 1 1/3 innings after August 9 and not at all after August 23. He continued hitting but he later suffered an oblique strain and his last game as either a hitter or pitcher was September 3.

That didn’t matter as Ohtani had already racked up enough accomplishments to take home the award for a second time, the first coming in 2021. If it weren’t for Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62 home runs last year, Ohtani would have gotten a hat trick. The BBWAA notes that this is the first time a player has won a unanimous MVP twice. The most unique baseball player of all time is now the most unique free agent of all time and is surely in line to break another record, or records, when he finally puts pen to paper.

Seager and Semien each had fine seasons in their own right, but had little chance to catch Ohtani here, though they have World Series rings to soften the blow. Seager hit 33 home runs and had a wRC+ of 169 while those numbers were 29 and 124 for Semien.

Other players receiving votes were Julio Rodríguez, Kyle Tucker, Yandy Díaz, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, José Ramírez, Gerrit Cole, Luis Robert Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Adolis García, Judge, Bo Bichette, J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Rafael Devers, Isaac Paredes, Sonny Gray, Alex Bregman and Josh Naylor.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2023 Home Run Derby?

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The 2023 All-Star festivities have already kicked off, with this past weekend featuring the Futures Game and the start of the MLB Draft. The draft continued today and tonight will feature the Home Run Derby, followed by more drafting and the All-Star game tomorrow. The derby is mostly about entertainment, though there’s also a $1MM prize on the line. That’s chump change to a lot of these players, but not all. The runner-up gets $500K and each other participant gets $150K. The player who hits the longest home run will get an extra $100K. It kicks off at 7pm Central time tonight.

The competition will proceed with head-to-head matchups in a bracket with these eight players, proceeding in order of their seeding: Luis Robert Jr., Pete Alonso, Mookie Betts, Adolis García, Randy Arozarena, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodríguez and Adley Rutschman. Defending champion Juan Soto isn’t participating this year, leaving the throne open for the taking. Let’s take a look at the matchups and some of their stats.

  • Luis Robert Jr. OF, White Sox: Robert is having his best season in many ways, including in the power department. He came into the year with 36 home runs in 222 games but already has 26 this season in just 89 contests. He’s hitting .271/.330/.569 overall for a wRC+ of 143. He has an average exit velocity of 89 mph, max of 113.6 mph and a 15.9% barrel rate. This is his first time participating in the home run derby.
  • Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles: Rutschman debuted last year and hit 13 home runs in 113 games but is already up to 12 this year after just 86 contests. He’s hitting .273/.376/.423 on the season for a wRC+ of 125. He has an average exit velocity of 87.9 mph, max of 111.1 mph and a 6.7% barrel rate. This is his first time participating in the home run derby.

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  • Adolis García, OF, Rangers: García broke out in 2021 with a 31-homer campaign, added another 27 last year and already has 23 here in 2023. Financially, he’s probably the player with the most to gain from the prize money. He’s yet to reach arbitration and that $1MM total is more than his annual salary. He got a $2.5MM bonus when signing with the Cardinals, but that was way back in 2017. Rutschman is the only other player in the field that is both pre-arb and hasn’t signed an extension, but he got a signing bonus of $8.1MM when signing in 2019. Garcia is hitting .261/.331/.517 this year for a wRC+ of 131. He’s hitting .273/.376/.423 on the whole for a wRC+ of 125. He has an average exit velocity of 92.2 mph, max of 115.1 mph and a 16.4% barrel rate. This is his first time participating in the derby.
  • Randy Arozarena, OF, Rays: Arozarena vaulted himself onto the national stage with 10 home runs in the 2020 postseason. He followed that up by hitting 20 in each of the past two seasons and has another 16 here in 2023. He’s hitting .279/.388/.467 on the year for a wRC+ of 147. He has an average exit velocity of 92.9 mph, max of 114.3 mph and a 14.6% barrel rate. This is his first time participating in the derby.

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  • Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets: Alonso is the most successful derby participant of the group, winning the competition back-to-back in 2019 and 2021. There was no derby in 2020 due to the pandemic. He attempted to win a third consecutive title last year but was defeated by J-Rod in the semis. He has 172 career home runs and is at 26 this year. He’s slashing .211/.310/.497 for a wRC+ of 123. He has an average exit velocity of 89.2 mph, max of 113.7 mph and a 14.8% barrel rate.
  • Julio Rodríguez, OF, Mariners: Rodríguez will be the hometown favorite with the festivities taking place in Seattle this year. As mentioned, he took out Alonso a year ago but fell to Juan Soto in the finals. He hit 28 home runs as a rookie last year and has added 13 more this year. He’s hitting .249/.310/.411 for a wRC+ of 105. He has an average exit velocity of 92.8 mph, max of 115.5 mph and a 9.8% barrel rate.

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  • Mookie Betts, IF/OF, Dodgers: Betts is 30 years old and this is his seventh time in the All-Star game but this will be his first derby. He has 239 career home runs, including 26 this year. He’s batting .276/.379/.586 overall for a wRC+ of 157. He has an average exit velocity of 92.5 mph, max of 110.1 mph and a 12.8% barrel rate.
  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays: Guerrero put on a show in the 2019 contest, hitting 91 home runs overall but falling just short of Alonso in the final round. He has 117 homers in his career and 13 here in 2023. He’s slashing .274/.344/.443 for a wRC+ of 120. He has an average exit velocity of 94.3 mph, max of 116.7 mph and a 13.6% barrel rate.

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The winner of Robert/Rutschman will square off against the winner of García/Arozarena in the semis, while the winner of Alonso/Rodríguez will face the winner of Betts/Guerrero. Before we get to who you think will win, let’s start with who you want to win. (Link to poll for app users)

And who do you think will win the 2021 Home Run Derby? (Link to poll for app users)

MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Participants

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Major League Baseball has announced the field for the 2023 Home Run Derby. The full list of participants:

It is a single-elimination bracket. First-round matchups are as follows: Robert/Rutschman, Alonso/Rodríguez, Betts/Guerrero, García/Arozarena. Rodríguez and Alonso are the only two repeat players from last year’s event. Alonso had won the event back-to-back times in 2019-21 (there was no Derby in 2020 because of the pandemic) before Rodríguez knocked him out in the semifinal round last season. Juan Soto took down Rodríguez to win the tournament but declined to try to defend his title.

The Derby will take place Monday evening at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the winner will receive $1MM. The runner-up takes home $500K, while every other participant receives $150K. The player who hits the longest home run wins $100K.

MLB Announces 2023 All-Star Rosters

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The starters for the 2023 All-Star Game were already announced earlier this week, and today the league revealed the reserve selections and the pitching staffs for the National League and American League teams.  Fan balloting determined the game’s starters, while the reserves and pitchers were picked by a combination of the player ballot and selections from the league office.

This won’t be the final list of players involved, as some more substitutions will be announced later for players who are injured or who have opted not to participate.  Every team must have at least one player represented at the Midsummer Classic, and the starting pitchers for the game will be announced on July 10.

Of note, Shohei Ohtani will be in the game as both a DH and as a pitcher for the third consecutive season.  The Braves led all teams with eight All-Stars, while the Rangers weren’t far behind with six players chosen.  This year’s All-Star Game takes place in Seattle on July 11.

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