The Baltimore Orioles are loaded with young talent, but what happens when those players are due contract extensions? It is already tough for rebuilding teams to draft and develop talent. Opening the competitive window is impressive enough, extending it is another challenge entirely.
That is the challenge the Baltimore Orioles are currently facing. While, yes, they do have young talent like Jackson Holliday on the come-up, they also have players entering their prime like Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman who will need contract extensions sooner rather than later. The longer the Orioles wait, the more money they will have to pay these players – and thus the less they can spend in MLB free agency and on trade acquisitions.
The Orioles are perhaps the best competition for the Yankees in the AL East and American League as a whole. Baltimore hopes to avoid distractions early this season, with a Henderson injury already forcing Holliday off second base to shortstop. The rotation needs work, and Baltimore never really replaced Corbin Burnes.
The next item on Mike Elias's checklist ought to be extending Adley Rutschman. The more time that goes by, the more Elias and the Orioles will have to spend on their star catcher. As of early February, Rutschman was projected by CBS to receive an extension of six years for $106 million.
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Adley Rutschman's asking price just went up for Orioles
That sounds reasonable for a player of Rutschman's ability. Adley is a two-time All-Star and former silver slugger. He slashed .250/.318/.391 last season in a down year. For most catchers, that would be a career season at the plate.
The Seattle Mariners signed Cal Raleigh to a six-year, $106 million deal on Tuesday. It's as if Jerry DiPoto read the CBS Sports article from early February and tore out the page. While that is great news for the Mariners and Raleigh, who is one of the more underrated catchers in baseball, it also means Rutschman's price tag just went up.
Orioles executive Mike Elias wants to extend Adley Rutschman, apparently
What makes matters even worse is that Elias hinted at a possible extension in October. Yet, he hasn't acted on it.
"... you look at our group of young players right now, we do have an impressive young group that's been drafted here, home grown, with good heads on their shoulders, and there are many of them where you look at them and go, 'Man, I wish we had these guys longer than they're currently contracted for.' And that's a big part of the equation. We know that. It's something we work on quietly in the background and I don't talk about what we're doing or not doing, but it would certainly be front and center for a front office to be working on those things," Elias said per Roch Kubatko of MASN.
So what is the holdup? Receiving ownership approval for an expensive deal – especially one for a catcher – is not easy. But Rutschman is a former No. 1 overall pick and franchise-caliber player in his prime. There's no reason to keep waiting, especially after Raleigh just stole his asking price.