The Adley Rutschman trade is like an all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral. It takes a few days to digest.

The first-overall draft pick in 2019, and the first orchestrated by Mike Elias, is gone. The one-time face of the franchise, the engine that drives the liftoff, is gone. No playoff wins, no titles. No way to sell it to most of the fan base.

This is the ultimate example of two things being true.

The return for Rutschman deserves an A grade on any scale. Prospects are a gamble. They burn brightly or flame out. But three of the top five in the Red Sox organization were moved for Rutschman. More important, they rank first, seventh and eighth in the Orioles’ system, with pitcher Kyson Witherspoon and outfielder Enddy Azocar bumped down a notch after Michael Forret returned in the Tyler Wells trade with the Rays. Pitcher Anthony Eyanson is No. 1.

That’s a haul.

That’s only half of it.

The Orioles were 2 ½ games out of the last Wild Card when some dismantling unfolded. Rutschman wasn’t a pending free agent like outfielder Taylor Ward. They could have kept intact a tandem of Rutschman and Samuel Basallo that’s unmatched in baseball.

A potential lockout this winter could freeze offseason business, which would have impacted the Orioles’ ability to double back on Rutschman’s market. President of baseball operations Mike Elias was asked twice about it in Monday night’s video call and sidestepped the subject.

“It’s not something that I talk about openly,” he said. “Certainly, it’s on people’s minds out here in the industry, but it’s not something that we talk about outwardly. We’re planning on having a great season in 2027.”

The 28-minute session ended with another question about the lockout.

“It’s not something that I talk about openly,” he repeated. “It’s on everybody’s mind. The other GMs, we’re all aware that it’s a possibility. No one knows what that looks like, but it’s on everybody’s minds.”

Only six catchers with at least three All-Star selections have been traded mid-season since 1950, according to STATS: Rutschman, Víctor Martínez in 2009, Iván Rodríguez in 2008, Mike Piazza in 1998, Elston Howard in 1967 and Ed Bailey in 1961.

The last time a team traded a catcher chosen as an All-Star that season was in 2018, when Wilson Ramos went from the Rays to the Phillies.

Having Rutschman in the division is salt in an open wound, but how much better would everyone feel if the Orioles traded him to the Reds? The sides talked last week, according to a source.

I’d say probably a little better, but hardly enough to sway opinions. The Orioles parted with Adley Rutschman, hugely popular in the clubhouse and in the stands. It felt like a concession to competing in 2026, especially when stacked with the Ward and Wells trades. But Trevor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge remained despite their expiring contracts. Injured players are coming back. Perhaps there’s still enough juice to push this team up the Wild Card standings.

It will have to be done without three of the top five leaders in bWAR. Without a three-time All-Star catcher, the team leader in on-base percentage, and a high-leverage reliever with a hot hand from a bullpen that’s showing cracks and was supposed to get reinforcements, including a shutdown lefty. Didn’t happen.

The schedule is kind right now, with the transition made while the Angels are in town. They were bad before the deadline and did some tearing down during it. But next up is a three-city trip to play the Rangers, Twins and Rays, followed by home series against the Yankees and Tampa Bay.

“(Elias) retained the core of this group, and our pitching staff has remained the same, the bullpen other than Wells has remained the same,” said left-hander Trevor Rogers. “I have the utmost confidence in this group and we just have to grind away games and at-bats and innings. I have full faith that we can get the job done.”

Elias spent the bulk of his video call talking about Rutschman, of course, but he also explained why Wells was dealt for Forret, another move that probably won’t help the cause this year.

“I think the rationale was what it was for every trade, and I think that we got a return that was worth giving up a really good relief pitcher right now at the trade deadline,” Elias said. “Relievers, their value is often maximized right at the trade deadline, so when you’ve got a reliever having a good season, and especially when you’re under .500 like we are, you tend to see what is out there.

“Many of our relievers, we did not trade. Tyler we did, because we got Michael Forret back in the org and he’s a starting pitcher that’s having a lot of success at the Triple-A level. I think he’s very close to major league ready, like a phone call away. Like where he’s at. We drafted him and developed him and traded him to Tampa, and now he’s back.

“Baseball’s got some weird ins and outs like that, but really like where he’s at in his career, and I think to get a young starting pitcher with his pitch mix, with his command, who’s got the ability to throw innings and be in a  rotation, I think it’s a good trade for a reliever who’s having a good season and has got a year left on his deal. So these are just the types of balances that we’ve got to make as we assess these moves.”

Just my opinion here, but that phone call, if it comes later this summer, probably happens with the team out of contention. He doesn’t figure to be next man up with the other options in the organization. But I also had my doubts about the Orioles trading Rutschman, so anything’s possible.