Few teams had as much riding on Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft as the Baltimore Orioles did. A bitterly disappointing start to the season found the team buried in last place and desperately in need of some optimism about the future — and that was before Mike Elias flipped one of the O's best relievers, Bryan Baker, to the Tampa Bay Rays for an extra Competitive Balance pick last week.
That deal gave Baltimore a whopping four selections within the top 37, and did so at the cost of their competitiveness this season. Elias needed to come out of Sunday night with tangible proof that his organization was headed in the right direction, and that the pieces were in place to get back into meaningful contention as soon as 2026.
Instead, Orioles fans are left with more questions. Baltimore took Auburn catcher/outfielder Ike Irish at No. 11, Coastal Carolina catcher Caden Bodine at No. 30, Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy at No. 31 and high-school outfielder Slater de Brun at No. 37. Yes, Elias declined to take a single pitcher with any of his team's first four picks; in fact, he's yet to draft a single pitcher in the first round since assuming control of the team back in 2019.
But neglecting his team's current biggest need is one thing. Doing so while seeming to put a target on your longest-tenured star is something else entirely, and it's fair to wonder how Adley Rutschman's feeling after watching his organization load up at his specific position.
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Adley Rutschman extension looks even less likely after Orioles MLB Draft haul
It's an open question as to whether Irish will stick behind the plate as a pro. He played mostly outfield this past season after fracturing his right scapula in March, and Baltimore might decide he'd be better off leaving the tools of ignorance behind and focusing more on his offensive development. But it's very much not a question for Bodine: The College World Series hero was among the best framers in this draft class, and the O's surely didn't draft him to stick him at first base or DH.
So that's ... let's call it 1.5 more catchers added to the system, both of whom are seasoned college bats who figure to move pretty quickly once they begin their pro careers. And we haven't even gotten to the team's top current prospect, Samuel Basallo, who splits his team between first base and catcher. Granted, there are plenty of defensive questions among that group; it's entirely possible that none of them pan out, or that any of them are able to hack it as catchers at the Major League level. It's also possible that Elias was just letting the board come to him, sticking with his bat-first draft philosophy while snatching up players he saw as good values.
Still, it's easy to connect the dots here. Rutschman has two-plus years of team control remaining, set to become a free agent after the 2027 season. That feels like a long time, but it's really not, especially considering that both team and player likely won't want to go into his walk year without a deal in place. The Orioles need to make a decision on whether they want to try and keep their All-Star around for the long haul, and they need to do it pretty soon. In that light, the decision to continue loading up behind the plate feels curious, to say the least.
It also doesn't help that Rutschman was struggling at the plate before going down with an oblique injury, one that will keep him out until after the All-Star break. This is the second consecutive year that he's had marred by injuries and ineffectiveness, and he'll be 28 in February. Does Baltimore want to pay for Rutschman's 30s, no matter how valuable he's been to this rebuild? It feels like we got our answer on Sunday night.