Orioles All-Star Closer Will Make Opening Day Roster in Return From Injury

The Baltimore Orioles hoped all winter to have their star closer ready for Opening Day, and the team's general manager made his status official on Sunday.

Jul 29, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista (74) throws a ninth inning pitch against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles spent all offseason hoping that superstar closer Felix Bautista would be ready for Opening Day in his return from the elbow injury and Tommy John surgery that cost him the end of the 2023 campaign and all of 2024.

On Sunday, manager Brandon Hyde put all speculation to bed when he told MLB.com beat reporter Jake Rill that Bautista will break spring training camp as a member of the team' s Opening Day roster.

Bautista's return represents a major boon for the Orioles' hopes for the season, as the team sorely missed his presence in 2024.

Last season, Baltimore finished 24th in MLB in bullpen ERA in Bautista's absence, a stark departure from their fifth place finish in 2023.

In his two seasons as a Major Leaguer, Bautista has been a transcendent presence on the mound. He owns a career 1.85 ERA and has struck out 198 hitters in 126.2 innings pitched, good for a jaw-dropping 14.1 K/9.

In 2023, Bautista was named to the American League All-Star team and even garnered consideration for the league's Cy Young award, finishing 11th in the voting despite being a reliever and not pitching the full season.

On Saturday, Orioles ace Zach Eflin declared that everyone in the clubhouse expects the team to win the World Series, and Bautista is the exact sort of high-leverage presence who can prove decisive in October and November.

Bautista will rejoin fellow reliever Yennier Cano in forming a dominant one-two punch for the eighth and ninth innings, with Seranthony Dominguez, Cionel Perez, Keegan Akin and Gregory Soto helping to comprise one of the top bullpen unites in baseball.