Adley Rutschman’s Opening Day home run is dollar signs to his ears as his contract extension looms.

If the Seattle Mariners sent a loud message to Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles a couple days before Opening Day, then Adley Rutschman is shouting at the team’s front office.

Elias can forget all about the six-year, $106 million price tag that Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh signed earlier this week.

Rutschman’s solo home run on Opening Day is more proof of just how valuable Rutschman is to Baltimore, and how expensive it’ll eventually be to lock him up long-term.

While Rutschman did regress a bit last season, especially in the second half, his Opening Day statement is clear he’s still worth top dollar.

When healthy and right, he’s the most valuable catcher in the league, elite on both sides of the ball.

He isn’t the only young player that Baltimore has to worry about paying, but Rutschman’s big Opening Day makes it clear his extension is a top priority.

It also means Elias won’t be able to lowball Rutschman in his extension talks either.

Adley Rutschman’s bat-cracking statement on Thursday is proof the Baltimore Orioles are in expensive territory

This isn’t a contract year for Rutschman, who will remain under team control through 2027.

But it is his final year before arbitration, meaning he has significant money riding on how he performs this year. He made sure to put behind any doubts about his worth after a less-than-satisfactory 2024 season.

Rutschman will probably have a breakout season because he knows what’s at stake. He already knows what his floor could be thanks to the Mariners.

Elias and the Orioles know what they are working with too.

But if his Opening Day is foreshadowing anything, his 2025 season should be promising.

The better he plays, the more he’s worth.

 If he takes his Opening Day performance and is consistent throughout the rest of the season, the Orioles will have to make Rutschman their top priority or risk losing him to one of the New York teams or the Los Angeles Dodgers, because they seem to poach all the top talent every year with the biggest bank accounts.