This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- It’s been roughly 2 1/2 months since the Orioles’ 2024 season reached a shocking, disappointing conclusion. On the night of Oct. 2, Baltimore lost to Kansas City in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Camden Yards.

For the second year in a row, the O’s were swept out of the postseason without winning a game. Both times, the somber tone of the clubhouse said more than any of the players’ words.

Still, Adley Rutschman didn’t shy away from sharing how much a season-ending loss stings either time. At the end of the 2024 campaign, the 26-year-old catcher again expressed continued confidence in his team’s future, though.

“This team is capable of a lot. I know that we’ve shown that time in and time out,” Rutschman said on Oct. 2. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but I think this group’s relentless. I think you’re going to see an improved group next year. They don’t take any time off. These guys will get right back to work. I know I’m going to be excited to see what we’ve got come Spring Training.”

Sure, it would help if the younger players in Baltimore’s core -- guys such as Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday and others -- took more steps forward in 2025. But there’s something else the Orioles need to have happen next season.

They need Rutschman to look like himself, which wasn’t the case during the second half of 2024.

Since getting taken No. 1 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, Rutschman has been the face of a new era in Baltimore. The Oregon State product was general manager Mike Elias’ first Draft pick. Rutschman's arrival in the system sparked hope for fans during the dark days of the rebuild.

Rutschman was the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2022, then improved in ‘23, when he earned his first All-Star nod and won an AL Silver Slugger Award. He continued to play well in the first half of ‘24, being voted into the Midsummer Classic as the AL’s starting catcher after hitting 16 home runs and posting a .780 OPS over 90 games in the first half.

After the All-Star break, Rutschman wasn’t the same. Over his final 58 games, the backstop hit .207 with only three homers and a .585 OPS in 234 plate appearances. Then, his bat remained quiet in the postseason, when he went 1-for-8 over two games vs. the Royals.

“He’s been such a key to our ascent that it’s been very frustrating for him, and for us, to see him experience the degree of struggles that he did in the second half, really for the first time since we’ve had him,” Elias said. “But he is an elite competitor, an athlete and he’s our guy. I have nothing but confidence that he’s going to be back to Adley Rutschman in 2025.”

Manager Brandon Hyde expressed the same belief at last week’s Winter Meetings in Dallas.

“Adley, you still have to remember, it's still early on in his career. That was the first offensive adversity that he's had. I look for Adley to have a big year next year,” Hyde said. “I think Adley is in a great place right now, physically and mentally. I think he's going to come into camp really, really driven.

“We've had conversations this offseason. He's got a great plan in place for being ready in Spring Training, like he always is. Last year, he was very disappointed in the second half. It's tough. I think he's going to be better for it.”

When a player’s production drops off so drastically in the second half, it’s natural to wonder whether he may be playing through an injury. Externally, some have wondered whether that could have been the case with Rutschman this past season.

Earlier this offseason, Elias acknowledged that Rutschman was “naturally tired” from playing one of the sport’s most grueling positions. But there was nothing beyond that, per the GM.

“There is not an injury that I would speak to of any nature,” Elias said.

The Orioles will give Rutschman ample opportunities to return to form in 2025. They signed veteran Gary Sánchez to a one-year, $8.5 million deal to be the backup catcher, but he’ll be in the James McCann role from the past two seasons.

Rutschman is going to play a lot -- at both catcher and designated hitter -- as he should. He is a special talent when he’s at his best.

And Baltimore is optimistic that the star version of Rutschman will be back next season.