Baltimore Orioles Won’t Adjust Timeline for Injured All-Star Reliever

The Baltimore Orioles aren’t going to rush the pitcher they consider to be the future of the back of their bullpen.

Oct 7, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista (74) looks on from the dugout in game one of the ALDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias told reporters on Saturday that closer Félix Bautista would throw off a full mound next week, the next step for him as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander had the surgery 11 months ago and, aside from a debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition in the same elbow in February, his recovery from the surgery has been on time.

With Baltimore in first place in the American League East and fighting once again for the No. 1 seed in the postseason, MLB.com asked Elias if there was any chance that Bautista might join the Orioles for the postseason.

Elias ruled out any return for this season, stating that the 29-year-old’s timeline is still the same as it was last year — spring training of 2025. The usual recovery time for this surgery is anywhere from 12-18 months.

Bautista has always stated that his goal is to return for Opening Day next year. He has spent most of the year working out at Baltimore’s spring training facility in Sarasota, Fla., with occasional trips to join the Orioles so team officials could gauge his progress.

That means Baltimore will continue to roll with Craig Kimbrel as their closer. The nine-time All-Star is one of the most decorated closers of all time, as he entered Saturday’s action with 440 career saves. He has 23 saves this season and is on pace to have his highest save total in a single season since 42 in 2018 with Boston.

The Orioles have surrounded Kimbrel with a bullpen that includes Yennier Cano, Seranthony Dominguez, Cionel Perez, Gregory Soto and Keegan Akin.

Before he tore the UCL in his right arm last August, Bautista was having a career year.

Along with earning an All-Star berth, he was named to the All-MLB First Team and received the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year after 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’s career has been on a slow burn for more than a decade. Signed by the Miami Marlins as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, he pitched three year in the Marlins’ organization before he was released in 2015.

He signed with Baltimore in 2016 and worked his way up to the Majors in 2022, as he went 4-4 with a 2.19 ERA in 65 appearances with 15 saves, 88 strikeouts and 23 walks. He took over as the full-time closer last season.