Three best landing spots for Adley Rutschman this offseason

The 2019 first overall pick would draw plenty of interest on the trade market given his age, position and potential. 

With the writing appearing to be on the wall for his time in Baltimore, let’s take a look at the three best offseason trade landing spots for Rutschman.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs (75-55) stand out as one of, if not the best, destinations for Rutschman.

After missing the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, the Cubs are poised to make a return to the postseason and will be all-in for years to come. Veteran catcher Carson Kelly has been a solid free agent signing, but Rutschman would be a massive upgrade and a perfect fit with the rest of their young core.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has said he wants to be aggressive, and he’s got plenty of prospect capital at his disposal to get something done.

Detroit Tigers

With starting pitcher Tarik Skubal under contract, the time to swing big is now for the Tigers (78-53).

As good as catcher Dillon Dingler has been this season, Rutschman’s upside and potential are too good to pass up. The Tigers have gotten great production throughout the lineup in 2025, but one more middle-of-the-order bat still feels needed. 

Detroit has one of the best prospect pools in all of baseball and several young major league players it could use as trade chips to land Rutschman.

San Diego Padres

When are the Padres (74-56) not in on an all-star player that becomes available?

Not only is Rutschman that, but he would fill one of their biggest positional needs at catcher. It’s been a revolving door of players behind the plate for years in San Diego, and while Freddy Fermin was a nice pickup, Rutschman is a different level of player.

The Padres' farm system isn’t the strongest given all of their activity at recent deadlines, but you can never count general manager A.J. Preller out.