He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox between 2012 and 2017.

Josh attended Cullman High School in north-central Alabama, where he was a four-year starter on the baseball team.

In 2007, his senior season, Rutledge hit .454 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI, and he helped his team win the state championship.

The Birmingham News and the Alabama Sports Writers Association named him the Class 5A Player of the Year.

In 2008, as a freshman, he started 61 games and led the team in batting average (.369), hits (99), runs scored (62), and stolen bases (16).

[2] The Colorado Rockies selected Josh in the third round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, and he signed with the team on June 25.

[9] Rutledge spent half of the season in Triple-A with the Salt Lake City Bees, hitting .286 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI in 81 games before being traded to the Boston Red Sox in July 2015.

On July 27, 2015, the Angels traded Josh to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Shane Victorino and $3.8 million in cash considerations.

In 2013, he married Laura McKeeman (who took Rutledge's name upon marriage), a reporter and host for ESPN and the SEC Network.