Orioles GM Mike Elias announced this afternoon that right-handed closer Felix Bautista is set to undergo Tommy John surgery in early October. Elias also announced that the club and Bautista had agreed upon a guaranteed, two-year contract that runs through the 2025 campaign. Bautista won’t pitch during the 2024 campaign, and is expected back in time for Spring Training 2025.
Bautista, 28, made his big league debut in 2022 as a member of the Baltimore bullpen and almost immediately became one of the club’s most important arms, with a 2.19 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 65 2/3 innings for the club last year as the Orioles surged to a surprising 83-79 season. The right-hander took another leap forward in his sophomore season to become one of the most dominant relievers in baseball during the 2023 campaign. In 61 innings of work this season, Bautista posted an unbelievable 46.4% strikeout rate that lead all relievers while also leading the pack in FIP (1.88), xFIP (2.30), and SIERA (2.06). Bautista’s sterling 1.48 ERA trailed only four relievers in the majors, and the right-hander figured to be a key part of the Orioles’ first postseason push since 2016.
Unfortunately, those plans went awry in late August when the club announced that Bautista was headed to the injured list with “some degree” of UCL injury. Even at the time, that diagnosis was ominous, given that UCL damage often requires Tommy John surgery. That said, the Orioles left the door open for the 2023 All Star to return to help the club’s playoff push, and the righty began to rehab in hopes of working his way back from the injury. Elias noted at the time that while doctors had indicated Bautista would be able to pitch without causing any further damage to his UCL, a procedure to address the issue would be necessary at some point.
The plan seemed to be going well, at first, as Bautista worked up to 25-pitch side sessions fairly quickly. Ultimately, as relayed by Jake Rill for MLB.com, the right-hander ran out of time to return during the regular season, with just two games left to play on Baltimore’s schedule. That left the Orioles to decide to shut him down for the year, preferring not to activate him during the postseason push without having made lower-leverage appearances first. With Bautista not participating in the postseason, there was little reason to delay the right-hander’s surgery further.
With Bautista not expected to throw a competitive pitch until Spring Training of the 2025, the sides came together on a guaranteed deal that would run through the end of the 2025 season, Bautista’s first year of arbitration eligibility. While the terms of Bautista’s deal with the Orioles have not been disclosed, Elias expressed in comments to reporters (including MASN’s Roch Kubatko) that the deal was a bright spot that should help Bautista focus on the rehab ahead of him.
“I think that’s great, because he can just concentrate on his rehab and getting back on the field. He won’t have any business to attend to in that time,” Elias said. “We did something similar with John Means, and very happy for Félix and for us that that’s out of the way.”
With Bautista officially done for 2023 (and 2024), the Orioles figure to turn to right-handed setup man and fellow All Star Yennier Cano as their primary closer in his absence. Cano has recorded four saves in Bautista’s absence, though he’s struggled to an uncharacteristic 4.76 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work during that time. Cano’s full-season numbers are much more impressive, as the 29-year-old righty sports a 2.12 ERA and 2.87 FIP in 72 1/3 innings of work with the Orioles this season.
Classy for Baltimore to give him some financial security through the TJS rehab process. Hopefully he returns the same, if not better.
Agreed, but if the O’s cut him for some cheapass reason, there would by 29 other teams lining up for his services.
Sure, bud, a guaranteed contract is sooooo cheapass. More like, here’s our guy, let’s do the right thing. Elias is still playing chess. Bautista is a physical phenomenon and everyone knows it. The Mountain.
He didn’t say they WERE cheapass, did he? I read it as a hypothetical following the word IF.
Anyone that thinks 29 teams will line up to sign a guy who won’t play next season is very crazy and doesn’t watch much baseball. At best, a few teams are willing to make this risky bet, almost always the team the player is already currently on.
Even with tjs, there won’t be 29 teams because of location, but somebody is going to pay Ohtani at least $50m a year. There would be maybe 25 teams lined up for Bautista if he was available, which he is not. Cincinnati, Cleveland, SF and the Mets likely wouldn’t be interested.
@avenger65: Although, of course, you have absolutely no idea which teams would or would not be interested.
@mlb fan There have actually been instances of teams signing an injured person who didn’t have the huge success Bautista has had thus far and we’re going to miss a full season. If a player has high potential alone, let alone is known to be the caliber of Bautista, he’d of gotten offers from plenty of teams and wouldn’t have needed to wait for all 29 teams to officially contact him. So it’s an exaggeration of sorts but not that far fetched.
Jays did that with Chad Green. It happens often
“If” doesn’t excuse stupid thoughts. Stupid hypotheticals are still stupid.
Again, another armchair GM guarantor that coming back from TJ surgery is a guarantee to the same stuff, velocity, and precision as before…….bottom line is the there ins’t a guarantee of either a time table or that he’ll be just as good if not better than before……and as far as teams lining up…..what about the possibility that he doesn’t come back as before and has to re-make himself…..think those 29 teams would commit big guaranteed contracts to that possibility? If anything, other clubs would offer modest money during the re-hab 24 season and then an incentive laden 25 season that protects them just in case…….Today, clubs think with their wallets and not with their hearts……
This isn’t an big guaranteed contract. They’re giving him next year’s pre-arb min and his first year arb salary. As he’s missing the ’24 season, the latter pay should be insignificant. The O’s are protecting an asset and ensuring he doesn’t try to rush back from rehab as well. If the O’s cut him, any team would be willing to roll the dice with his talent level while remaining under team control for years. A team can also flip him if he proves healthy in ’25.
If the O’s cut him because he’s not as good as before why would any team be willing to roll the dice on someone with his talent when the O’s determined he’s not good enough to pitch for them? Make up your mind
Exactly, TJS is not magic n there R no guarantees that P comes back to same level of P he was pre-surgery. Some have come back n picked up where they left off but overall#s have2 point toward most Ps nvr being same again. Gota have modest expectations bout performance coming back from major surgery n long rehab process. Especially when arm health is priority intitally post op n it may take sum time to reestablish touch n feel 4pitching again w/Ur “new” elbow.
@rocky he’d be a pre arb player who even with some regression, would be a top bullpen arm. Teams would definitely be willing to take the risk at even the slightest chance that he came back even near his fullest form.
Teams ALWAYS thought with their wallets, not their hearts. Read Lords of the Realm.
The second year for Bautista’s contract covers Arb1. He would not be “a pre arb player.”
Why would anyone consider cutting Felix???
@CurtBlefary: Why would anyone honor Curt Blefary? LOL.
What an out-of-touch post – the Orioles are clearly not going to cut Bautista after signing him to a 2-year contract. Weird brain activity going on.
It’s not classy; it’s practical for both sides. A standard baseball and business move. They want to keep him as TJS has a high success rate, so a one year deal doesn’t make sense. They control him regardless for four more seasons, so this eliminates negotiating a contract, or figuring out his first arbitration year. They will still control him at the end of 2025.
Let’s Go O’s! Stand by your man/Mountain!
Definitely not a keeper for fantasy leagues… RIP
My O’s really took the high road here. No one would’ve batted an eye if they waited to see how he looked after the surgery before they made a decision on him. More importantly though, hopefully he comes back healthy with no adverse effect on his career.
Do you think your O’s will sign a closer in the off season? Or go in-house?
They seem to do a solid job at finding talented relief pitching in various areas. That being said I think they would be better off staying in house for a closer and I imagine that is probably they way they go as well.
I think a reliever will be signed. Not necessarily a closer but definitely will look outside the org for an arm or 2 for the pen.
That does depend on Wells though. I was penciling him in as our #5 starter next year. The plan may be for him to close. In that case—RP may not be a position we add. It’ll be a starter in that case.
I’m figuring Bradish, G-Rod, Means, Kremer, and Wells as our starting 5. (Irvin being the top depth starter)
That gives us Webb, Hall, Baumann, Cano, Coulombe, and Perez as likely bullpen guys.
I think Stephenson from TB would be a nice addition to the pen. Even if Wells is converted to a reliever. That puts Webb or Baumann as a potential roster casualty though as their both going to be out of options. If wells is in the pen we definitely need another SP. I don’t see Povich being ready for a starters role until mid season. He didn’t throw all that well in AAA. McDermott could be a nice sleeper for our pen as well.
@runningwithnailclippers: There are two possibilities.
Hader
I do like Hader, O’s originally drafted him about a decade ago and he is a Maryland native. A pretty good pitcher in his career so far as well. I could see us showing some interest in him but his performance may price him above what we may be willing to give him in comparison to other potential options.
Hader’s probably not in the price range of guys we’re looking at.
Yep, the Orioles are not going to sign Hader of any other high-dollar relievers. What will Hader get? 3/$35? Phillies? Rangers?
Hopefully they didn’t overspend again for a now unknown commodity.
What…
I wonder if part of the agreement in the contract extension is that the Orioles will option him for the 2024 season, which would delay his arbitration eligibility another season.
If they optioned him he would have to be on the 40-man roster all season, and they probably don’t want to restrict their roster flexibility like that. More likely he is on the MLB 60-day IL accruing service time.
O’s probably also want to keep Bautista’s goodwill by not acting stingy.
Unless I’m mistaken the only way a player can be on the 60-day IL is by being transferred over from the active (26-man) roster. I am 99.9% certain a player cannot be in the minors and on the 60-day IL.
You can also be transferred to the 60-day IL from the 15-day IL. But either way the 60-day IL is for MLB players and not something you can be on while optioned to the minors.
@CBA_Enjoyer: No player would agree to that.
A player cannot be optioned while on any length of MLB IL.
Oh the life of a small market team FO. Gotta get creative with roster building. Investing in players having (or having had) TJ surgery seems to be an Os strategy. IE Rule 5 Wells, traded for Seth Johnson.
Tyler Wells or DL Hall probably more likely to close games.
1983. Go for it now. The future is too unpredictable. Move GRod to closer. Wells and Cano are the set up guys. Rotation: Bradish, Means, Hair Bun and Gibson
You do not under any circumstances start Kyle Gibson or Dean Kremer in postseason games over Grayson Rodriguez.
@jdgoat, hmm. I do have a little more faith in Kremer and Gibson than you; but all said, point taken.
My concern is the back end of games. IMO, GRod (and possibly Wells) is the only post season eligible pitcher with closer stuff. And his arm is in better game day shape than Wells. Yes? No? Maybe?
No.. Start GrOD Almighty and take your four or five innings of dominance every fourth game
Hair Bun?
Hair Bun = Dean Kremer
Is that his real nickname or did you make it up?
When pitching, he wears his hair in a bun. Reference comes up during local Baltimore radio sports talk shows.
OK, but Baseball Reference shows nicknames and they don’t have it.
If it’s a real thing and you care enough, you can suggest it to them.
And I have seen other pitchers such as Marcus Stroman and maybe Taijuan Walker do that as well.
Separately, it’s interesting that Kremer came from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade. None of the other guys have panned out.
Or he can refer to him as such and not give 2 shts that’s baseball reference didn’t pick up……
Plenty of Orioles fans call him “Man Bun.” Sometimes b ref does not have all the latest nicknames. Especially the less flattering sounding ones.
Tyler definitely seems to be the plan. In the clincher Cano pitched the 8th, Tyler the 9th.
Moving Wells to the pen in AAA , back up now , fresh looking like a smart move.
At this point, the baseball gods just downright stink.
Recover quickly, Felix!
And he couldn’t have gotten the surgery a month ago because? Just seems odd.
It probably doesn’t make a difference on games missed anyways. Whether it was a month ago or now, he’s still be missing all of 2024. At least they had the slim chance of a miracle happening and having him back this year still by pushing the surgery off.
It seems every pitcher who has a stretched or partially torn or sprained UCLs or get a second opinion all wind up getting TJS. Might as well have it at the first sign of trouble because there’s no getting from the fact that they’re going to see Dr. ElAttrache.
The only exception I can think of is Masahiro Tanaka.
Does not change the timetable for Bautista’s return by even one single day.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers started Gonsolin for 11 games with a known tear before shutting him down for TJ. Now that move does impact his return timetable.
Noooo
Probably won’t be Fuji, but I expect Hyde will pick each bullpen option for the scenario. It’s served him well thus far.
Sucks we want see what was the best relief pitcher in baseball this season until 2025
Josh Hader says Hello!!
Just as long as you don’t ask him to get four outs.
Hi to you too, Josh, meet the best reliever in MLB: Felix Bautista.
Speaking from personal experience. The fact he was shakey against the Jays when it counted.
And they got 1 run vs Minnesota in 2 WC games
Now coming off TJ
Hader is light years ahead.
But I don’t wish Ill will on anyone
I legitimately hope he comes back better than ever. For his sake and yours
And for my sake and the Jays, I hope it’s true.
Because to be the best you gotta beat the best.
And I hope my Jays can figure it out and beat the AL east beasts Orioles next year
I hope you take it in 2023. If not you Atlanta (AA is a HOF GM).
See you in 2024 and 2025 when he’s Healthy
Here’s Hoping Bo or Vlad even Varsho for history sake takes him deep in the ALCS like we did to Ubaldo
EE is forever in my heart
Diehards know
Bautista was better than Hader THIS year, even missing September. Maybe Bautista’s .077/.200/.077/.277 line against Toronto could have been better – nor sure how much better it could have been – but how a pitcher performs against one team is an anecdote, not proof of who is best overall in a given season. Hader will likely be better than Felix next year but he might not be the best reliever then, either.
But Edwin Diaz will be back next year, so it’s cool.
And Josh can say Hello to his new team in 2 months and his record setting contract but Bautista had a better year in 2023. And I might have Devin Williams right there as well. But that’s the top 3 relievers in whatever order you want to put them in.
Edwin Diaz and Timmy Trumpet say hello.
Sign Josh Hader, hometown reunion… immediate replacement with 2025 potentially being the best MLB baseball team of this century!
I am reading about if the Os cut him here. lol. There’s no way the Os are cutting him.
They stash him for a year on the long term IL, just like Means. It’s a reasonable deal for his talent, basically identical to the Means situation. He won’t use up a roster spot, and it will be cheap. The posts about cutting Bautista sounds like wishful thinking by other teams’ fans. By the time he’s coming back in 2025, baseball will be a different landscape and we’ll all be obsessed with a different range of top players. It’s going to be a while, and that’s OK. It is what it is.
One comment to the reporting of this article is that the Orioles aren’t using Cano as the primary closer. Brandon Hyde has been saying that it’s a matchup thing game-to-game. And the last couple weeks reflect that. Cano is a big ground ball guy, and in situations where you need strikeouts, he’s not the best pick in those spots.
Couple of points:
1. This move prevents Felix from trying to rush back at the end of next year to help with arb and hopefully takes a worry off of his mind while rehabbing. It’s a solid move.
2. Felix will not be optioned, but placed on the 60 day Il.
3. The real question is who does Elias add from the post august 31 roster to replace an injured person on the playoff roster. It appears the hope was that maybe it would have been Lopez, but the reason for the timing of his DFA was to avoid uncomfortable questions about same after they decided he wasn’t going to replace Bautista and use that exemption.
Felix will occupy a 40 man slot once we get into the off season since there is no IL list then. Next regular season, they can put him on the 60 day IL again and get that spot back.
I’m not sure about who in the org this off season would be subject to the Rule 5 but given the overall higher level of talent, I’d guess that other rebuilding teams are chomping at the bit to snatch and give some Orioles minor league an opportunity to blossom in the Bigs. Of course the FO is aware and is likely already thinking of those players as trade resources prior to the Rule 5 draft.
There was no hope of Lopez replacing anyone on the post season roster. He’s been ineligible since Baltimore picked him up. Your post makes no sense.