What felt inevitable since the day after Orioles pitcher Felix Bautista walked off the mound with a right elbow injury in late August finally became official on Saturday.
The All-Star closer will undergo Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season. Speaking to reporters on the penultimate day of the regular season, general manager Mike Elias announced the news and confirmed Bautista will not pitch in the postseason, acknowledging the right-hander and the club had run out of time to continue pursuing that “pipe dream.” The 28-year-old threw a 25-pitch simulated game at Camden Yards on Tuesday as the latest step in a throwing progression that began earlier this month, but the Orioles had since been quiet on his status, leading one to wonder if they’d thrown in the towel on what was always an extreme long shot.
Elias said the initial MRI on Aug. 26 made it clear that Bautista would need reconstruction surgery for a partial tear to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but the star reliever and the Orioles didn’t want to dismiss the possibility — unlikely as it was — for him to rehab his elbow to the point where he might be able to contribute in the postseason before having the surgery, which was always very likely to sideline him for all of next season. Admitting the Orioles would “miss the hell out of the guy” until his anticipated return for the start of spring training in 2025, Elias also revealed Bautista had agreed to a two-year contract through the 2025 season, which would cover the pitcher’s first year of arbitration eligibility.
The AL East champion and top-seeded Orioles have gone an impressive 20-12 since the night of Bautista’s injury against Colorado on Aug. 25, but they’ve surely missed his presence in the back end of the bullpen after he registered a 1.48 ERA over 61 innings, an incredible 16.2 strikeouts per nine frames, and 33 saves in 39 chances and also earned his first trip to the All-Star Game in July. That production had garnered him some Cy Young Award consideration before the injury, and Bautista still received votes from local media for the 2023 Most Valuable Oriole, an honor won by rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson.
Manager Brandon Hyde has used more of a committee approach for the ninth inning in Bautista’s absence with All-Star setup man Yennier Cano, lefties Cionel Perez and Danny Coulombe, and right-handers Shintaro Fujinami and Tyler Wells all recording at least one save since late August.
Since making his major league debut last year, the flame-throwing Bautista has been one of the best relievers in baseball with a 1.85 ERA in 126 2/3 innings, 48 saves in 56 opportunities, and a whopping 198 strikeouts. That success came after years of toiling in the minors, first with the Miami Marlins organization and then with Baltimore after former executive Dan Duquette signed the Dominican-born pitcher as a minor-league free agent in 2016.
