Catcher is the one position on the infield that the Yankees desperately need to upgrade before the trade deadline. Statistically, it's hard to be worse than the type of offensive output that Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra, and Ali Sánchez—who is having himself a strong week—have put out. Their combined 54 wRC+ is 28th in baseball as of Thursday afternoon, and the only teams worse are the Phillies and White Sox, who just got the thrashing of a lifetime at the hands of the Bombers.

This is why, when it comes to upgrading the position, it's natural to start projecting potential trade partners. Usually, the criteria for this research are simple. You pick a bad team with a good player on it, then throw some names into a trade machine and put your findings up on social media. This is how some found themselves placing Orioles star catcher Adley Rutschman at the top of their trade boards.

There's just one issue with this. Rutschman is a former first-round pick who plays for the division rival Orioles.

Throwing more water on Yankees' Rutschman dream

For a team that has underperformed for as long as the Orioles have, despite them once being purported as the next big thing in the American League, it just feels like bad optics to send him to their biggest rival. There is probably already mistrust between the fans and the front office.

Plus, it doesn't help that President of Baseball Operations and general manager Mike Elias, as well as Vice President and Assistant General Manager Sig Mejdal, both have ties to the Astros—another one of the Yankees' top AL rivals. That puts a damper on this trade.

Any potential talks for Rutschman would likely require several of New York's top prospects. While giving up one or two might be reasonable, the Orioles could ask for a king's ransom to convince them that Rutschman should remain in the AL East.

It's not to say that New York general manager Brian Cashman has zero ability to sway the Orioles in the pursuit of Rutschman. It's just that Elias and Mejdal both have a long history with the Yankees that goes back further than just their time with the O's. You can't read somebody's mind, but there could be a petty aspect that would nix this trade as well if offers are all close. They are only human after all.

If the Yankees are going to upgrade the catcher position, it will probably be a player hitting close to league average. Even if they're just below that, it's still better than what Yankee catchers have done.

Kyle Higashioka would make fans groan, but the former Yankee has already worked with Gerrit Cole, and, statistically, he is leagues better than Wells, Escarra, and Sánchez. Higashioka, like Rutschman, falls into the category of being on a bad team and still having good numbers. This year, he is hitting .235/.313/.391 with a 99 wRC+.

Higashioka and others aren't as sexy names, but that should be the expectation, given that a potential Rutschman trade looks like a pipe dream for the Yankees.