Baltimore Orioles Closer Undergoes Yet Another Elbow Surgery

Felix Bautista is still on track to return to the Baltimore Orioles as its closer next season.

Baltimore Orioles reliever Félix Bautista had another surgery on Friday to help support his right arm’s recovery from Tommy John surgery, the team announced.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Keith Meister, one of the foremost surgeons in the field and who happens to be the team surgeon for the Texas Rangers. Meister performed the procedures in Dallas.

The Orioles described the procedure as a right elbow debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition. According to the team, the procedure does not change Bautista’s timetable to return.

“We do not anticipate any changes in his overall Tommy John recovery timeline and we still expect him to return for the 2025 season,” the team said via release.

MLB.com provided further context to the procedure. The latest procedure cleaned elbow scar tissue and moved the ulnar nerve so it would not be compressed. While not common, the Orioles noted that these sort of procedures have happened with others that have had Tommy John surgery and it has not complicated recovery.

The Orioles have already covered themselves for 2024, in terms of the closer position, as they signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year contract this offseason.

In spite of the injury, Bautista was named the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year, an American League All Star and an All-MLB First Team selection. He went 8-2 and saved 33 games with a 1.48 ERA in 56 games. He struck out 110 hitters in 61 innings for a nine-inning rate of 16.2 strikeouts. At the time of his injury he had a 2.8 fWAR, which was 20th among all pitchers.

Bautista suffered the injury in the season’s final month and had surgery on Sept. 30 to repair the UCL injury. The usual recovery time for the surgery is anywhere from 12-18 months.