SARASOTA, Fla. — For the first week or two of Adley Rutschman’s offseason, the Orioles catcher attempted to do what he always does at the end of the year. He stepped away from baseball, aiming to decompress, before enveloping himself in the obsession once more.

But this winter, back home in Oregon, it was harder for Rutschman to well and truly move on from what occurred in the latter half of 2024. Even now, when recounting his offseason training methods, Rutschman found himself steering the conversation toward a second straight winless postseason.

“He’s as driven as he’s ever been.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde

There is plenty to unpack surrounding Rutschman’s 2024 campaign, especially a second-half slump that left him with a .207 batting average after the All-Star break. But, before he could get into that, the team-first Rutschman expounded on two playoff trips with zero playoff wins. He expressed his confidence, unprompted, in this group’s ability to make amends in 2025.

“Sorry, I’m kind of going all over the place,” Rutschman said, losing track of the initial question two minutes into his response. “Put me back on track. What do you want to hear?”

This, really.

If this is where Rutschman’s head goes, why not follow that train of thought?

So, Adley, what is the prevailing emotion from a season that featured a disappointing end, both personally and as a team? As the first week of Baltimore’s spring training progresses, Rutschman stood at his locker in the clubhouse at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and said how he really feels.

“I don’t think there’s anything that pisses you off more as a competitor than losing and not winning the last game at the end of the year, because ultimately, that’s what everyone wants,” Rutschman said. “I think, for me, having experienced that in college and winning the national championship, you’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want.’ That’s the feeling you’re always, constantly chasing.

“And now you got guys in the big leagues, and this is the highest level, you’re like, ‘I want that feeling at this level.’ There’s nothing more motivating than that, and there’s also the feeling of just absolutely hating to lose. Getting beat is terrible. It’s the worst feeling as a player. There’s plenty of fuel in just wanting to win, but there’s also the added hatred of losing.”

So, when Rutschman began to analyze his third season as a major leaguer, nothing lingered longer than a double dose of disappointment — a second half in which he posted a .585 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and in which the Orioles went 33-33 before an early postseason crash-out.

“I didn’t have to look very hard to find motivation this offseason,” Rutschman said. “You’re just pissed off for months. You’re like, ‘OK, let’s lock it in. Let’s go.’”

That fire has been evident within Rutschman during the early stages of camp.

He still has the goofy quirks that show he’s having a good time playing, but the underlying determination left general manager Mike Elias, manager Brandon Hyde and others impressed with how he handled the winter and leaves little doubt in their minds that Rutschman will rebound.

“He’s as driven as he’s ever been,” Hyde said.

There won’t be a massive overhaul to Rutschman’s swing mechanics, but the 27-year-old noted that he has adopted a few minor tweaks.

Rutschman’s hands, during his load, now start slightly farther from his body and back, away from the pitcher. The alteration allows his hands more space to move through the strike zone, improving Rutschman’s timing and contact. He is also starting his front foot earlier in his load while slightly lessening his leg kick to give himself more time to react to different pitches.

Of course, those changes are minute. They could lead to a millimeter of difference during Rutschman’s swing when compared to last season. But, in baseball, a millimeter can lead to a much different result.

“If we can fix those things and get yourself in a position where my hips are rotating here, then I’m actually getting the bat flat again and I’m not just clipping pitches,” Rutschman said. “I’m actually flushing pitches and fastballs at the top of the zone, middle up in the zone. It’s such a game of millimeters when we’re talking about a swing, and it makes a huge difference.”

Rutschman has heard critiques in the past and believes in himself to move past them. Rutschman’s rookie debut was delayed as he recovered from a triceps strain. Even after he debuted, the soreness that lingered in his right elbow impacted his swing from the right side of the plate, leading him to hit .174 as a righty and .280 as a lefty.

He soon proved that he could produce equally from both sides of the plate. In 2023, as a right-handed hitter, Rutschman batted .304. But in 2022, there was plenty of talk about his switch-hitting ways.

“People were like, ‘Oh, shoot, he can’t hit from the right side,’” Rutschman said. “And then my right elbow gets healthy, and all of a sudden, my swing completely shifts because I’m slotting in deep in the zone and my whole right hand changes because of that.”

Rutschman hasn’t, and won’t, blame his second-half regression in 2024 on an injury. He was scratched from the lineup in August due to lower-back discomfort, and in June a foul ball struck his right hand. From June 28 onward, Rutschman hit .189 — a sharp demarcation from his .300 batting average through 77 prior games last season.

When asked whether any back or hand discomfort played a role in his slump, Rutschman avoided a direct answer.

“What I would say is, there are a lot of tiny things that can contribute to you being off just a little bit,” he said.

Cody Asche, who moved into the head hitting coach role this winter, said he doesn’t think Rutschman needs a mechanical overhaul. The dip in production was the “exception, not the rule,” for the former first overall pick.

“I think it was just a good learning process for Adley on how to control a lot of things that come with being a superstar, and being the anchor to a team,” Asche said. “I think it was just good for Rutsch to just reset. He showed up to spring training in, I think, a really, really good mindset. A mindset I’ve seen Rutsch in years past.”

Rutschman spent the winter stewing. The slow-burning frustration — and the desire to find a different outcome this season — led him through offseason training, and it continues to fuel Rutschman early in spring training.

He knows it has and will also continue to prod his teammates forward this spring and throughout the grueling 162-game slate ahead of them.

The Orioles reached a peak the last two seasons by making it to the postseason. They’re still far from the summit of that mountain range, though, and they know it.

“We’ve gotta focus on the next step,” Rutschman said. “But, if you ever need motivation, you think about that for two seconds and you’re right there.”