PROVE IT: Boston Red Sox NEED Adley Rutschman to DELIVER in October, Can He Be TRUSTED Yet?

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College football is back in Iowa, which means Saturdays are officially spoken for. Here in Iowa, we know it's about the tailgate. The black and gold everywhere, a little Back in Black happening on the speakers, and do it with a Captain Morgan drink in hand. Having a great time, and get ready for the game. Don't overthink it. Rally the crew. Pour a Captain and cola and captain while you can. Enjoy responsibly. Captain's orders. Captain Morgan Rum Company, New York, New York.

The Red Sox made Adley Rutschman their big trade deadline acquisition, and now it's time for him to prove exactly why. Can he truly be trusted in October? [upbeat music] You are Locked On Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, and welcome to Locked On Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. I'm your host, Gabby Maljanian. And with September moving along very quickly, we are so, so close to the playoffs beginning. So now we're looking at big picture stuff. What do the Red Sox need to actually prove moving forward, as well as which pitchers can undoubtedly be trusted the most in the playoffs? And will the Red Sox big trade deadline acquisition step up? So there's a lot of talk about how far the Red Sox can go in the playoffs. Is this a team that can truly make it work and can truly make a deep run? And one player that they're hoping will help them get to October is Adley Rutschman, because he was the guy that the Red Sox acquired at the trade deadline that was their biggest acquisition that they felt would give them the biggest boost heading into the playoffs. And when the Red Sox went out and acquired Adley, that wasn't just a depth move or a complementary move, that was the move. And the Red Sox haven't made the move in a long time. So if they're gonna make noise in October, there's a lot of pressure on Adley to prove why they went and got him because they paid a pretty big price for Adley Rutschman. There's a lot of pressure on him because he was the big deadline acquisition. The Red Sox made the move specifically to raise the ceiling of a postseason caliber roster. So that means that expectations should be a lot higher than simply, "Oh, he's just a solid catcher." This needs to be a guy who has to really help fuel your offense against good pitching in the postseason. We're finally starting to see the power from him. Against Baltimore last week he homered twice in the series opener, and then on Monday against the Angels he hit a three-run home run, which was his fourth homer since joining the Red Sox and 12th overall this season. So if he can keep that