Bautista (0-1) allowed one run on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning Friday versus Washington and came away with the loss. He did not record a strikeout.
Bautista was brought in for the ninth inning to keep the game tied at 3-3. He was one out shy from escaping the inning after issuing back-to-back walks, but he wasn't able to beat out Nasim Nunez to cover first base, and Bautista's late throw to home plate allowed Jose Tena to score from second. Bautista has given up one earned run in each of his last two outings and is now up to a 2.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB across 13 innings this season.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Continues impressive run
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Bautista picked up the save in Friday's 4-1 win over the Angels after throwing a clean ninth inning. He struck out two.
Since giving up two runs in an appearance back in March, Bautista has strung together a nine-inning scoreless streak. The hard-throwing right-hander has posted an excellent 1.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB while converting each of his seven save opportunities over 11 innings this season. Bautista struggled with his control in the early going -- he issued six free passes in his first five frames -- but he hasn't allowed a walk in his last six innings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Earns sixth save
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Bautista logged his sixth save of the season in Friday's 3-0 win over the Royals, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.
Bautista was tasked with preserving the Orioles' three-run lead and needed just 12 pitches (nine strikes) to get through the inning, inducing two groundouts with a strikeout in between. Bautista has converted all six of his save opportunities this season and has yielded just three walks and two hits over his last eight appearances (all scoreless), striking out nine batters.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Up to five saves in 2025
Rotowire
Bautista picked up the save in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Yankees after throwing a clean ninth inning. He struck out one.
Eight of Bautista's 10 pitches landed for strikes, so it was a relatively easy night for the big right-hander. Bautista has pitched well in spite of a troublesome 15.8 percent walk rate in 2025 after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery, turning in a 2.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 11:6 K:BB over nine innings while going a perfect 5-for-5 on save chances. The Orioles have just six save opportunities to date, which ranks 29th in the major leagues, and Bautista didn't see his first chance until the April 12 win over the Blue Jays.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Earns third save
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Bautista collected the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Nationals, allowing one hit while striking out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning. He did not issue a walk.
Bautista was brought in for the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. He needed 19 pitches (12 strikes) to make it through the frame, highlighted by a four-pitch punchout of James Wood to open the ninth. Bautista has earned a save in three of his last four outings and has not yielded a run over his last five games.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Secures second save
Rotowire
Bautista earned the save in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Reds, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Bautista was called upon to protect a 9-5 lead in the ninth after Matt Bowman allowed the first three batters to reach. The closer needed just 10 pitches to lock down the save, stranding a pair of baserunners in the process for his fourth straight scoreless appearances. On the season, he owns a 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 7:6 K:BB across six innings while converting both of his save opportunities.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Logs first save since 2023
Rotowire
Bautista earned the save in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays. He allowed two walks while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Bautista got the call from the bullpen to maintain the Orioles' one-run lead. He walked two batters in a row, and after forcing a groundout, he managed to close things out by striking out Bo Bichette. Bautista missed the entire 2024 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he underwent October of 2023, and Saturday's save was his first since Aug. 24, 2023, also against the Blue Jays.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Labors through ninth inning Monday
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Bautista gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning during Monday's 8-5 win over the Red Sox.
Bautista labored Monday, needing 26 pitches to finish off the game. A Romy Gonzalez double and Jarren Duran single plated two runs to make this one interesting, but Alex Bregman popped out while representing the tying run to end the contest. Bautista is still working his way back into form after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery and likely won't work back-to-back days early on, but he'll have a day off before Wednesday's meeting with Boston.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Good to go for Opening Day
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Manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday that Bautista will be included on Baltimore's Opening Day roster, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
There was some recent concern that Bautista wouldn't be ready to go for the start of the regular season, but the skipper put those thoughts to bed Sunday. The right-hander spent most of camp in ramp-up mode while working his way back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, but he's been cleared after making five spring appearances. The 29-year-old recorded 33 saves with a 1.48 ERA during the 2023 regular season and should begin the campaign as the Orioles' closer.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Cleared for spring debut Monday
Rotowire
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that Bautista (elbow) -- who will make his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox -- won't pitch back-to-back days or cover more than one inning early on in the season, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista projects to open the season as the Orioles' closer, barring any setbacks during his appearances in the spring as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in October 2023. However, for occasions in which Bautista is unavailable, Hyde said he would "mix and match" at closer those days, with the manager naming Andrew Kittredge (knee), Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez as options to fill in. Hyde noted that he'll apply the cautious usage of Bautista "especially in the first half." The Orioles don't seem to have a hard deadline for when the restrictions on Bautista will be lifted, as it likely just depends on how the pitcher looks and is bouncing back from outings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Shines in latest bullpen session
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw approximately 25 pitches Thursday in his second live batting practice session of the spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The hard-throwing right-hander faced Heston Kjerstad four times and Gary Sanchez three times during the session, recording three strikeouts among the seven plate appearances. Bautista is expected to throw live BP sessions on one or two more occasions before making his Grapefruit League debut in the first or second week of March. Manager Brandon Hyde has set seven spring appearances -- either in Grapefruit League games or on the back fields at camp -- as the benchmark Bautista needs to hit to make himself an option for the Opening Day bullpen.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Should be full go by Opening Day
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) said Friday that he's throwing at about 85 percent and is confident he will be 100 percent by Opening Day, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista is 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery and is being eased into things this spring. He has been throwing off a mound since August but is not expected to pitch in Grapefruit League games until late in spring training. While Bautista is expected to be ready to serve as the Orioles' closer on Opening Day, the club doesn't figure to commit to him in the role until they see how he looks and feels this spring.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Expected to be full go in spring
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Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Thursday that he expects Bautista (elbow) to more or less be without restrictions at the start of spring training, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Bautista started throwing off the mound in August and will be 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery by February. As long as he looks good during Grapefruit League play, he should regain the closer role for Baltimore heading into 2025. Bautista posted a 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 110:26 K:BB over 61 innings while notching 33 saves in 2023.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: First post-surgery bullpen session
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista threw off the mound for the first time since he had Tommy John surgery last October. He has already been ruled out for a return in 2024, but Bautista should be in store for a relatively normal offseason and enter spring training with little-to-no restrictions.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Shifts to 60-day IL
Rotowire
The Orioles placed Bautista (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
Bautista will miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October followed by a right elbow debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition procedure last week. Baltimore brought in veteran right-hander Craig Kimbrel on a one-year, $13 million contract in December and will install him as the closer this season while Bautista completes his rehab.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Will throw again Tuesday
Rotowire
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told Dani Wexelman of MLB Network Radio that Bautista (elbow) will throw again Tuesday.
"He's feeling good," Hyde said. "He's going to throw today, we're just monitoring it right now. I'm know we're running out of time a little bit. That's the only update I can give. We'll see how he is tomorrow, if he throws well today we'll continue to progress it. But he hasn't thrown enough, he's had about a month off. We only have six games left...depending on how he feels, there is an injury in there, we wanna be smart." Hyde doesn't appear to be terribly optimistic that Bautista could return before the end of the regular season, although the reliever has seemingly already progressed more quickly than expected from his UCL tear so nothing can be ruled out. Ultimately, the Orioles' main goal figures to be getting Bautista back for the postseason, but there remains work to be done.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Advances to mound work
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw a bullpen session Sunday in Baltimore, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.
It was his first mound workout since he was diagnosed three weeks ago with a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow. Bautista appeared to be using his entire arsenal, per Ruiz, which is another encouraging development as the 28-year-old aims to return to the Orioles' active roster prior to the end of the regular season. Yennier Cano has been filling in as the O's primary closer.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Advances to long-toss
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw long-toss Friday in Baltimore, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Bautista has been sidelined since late August due to a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow, but he's been making steady progress and is aiming to return at some point before the end of the regular season. He'll probably have to advance to mound work within the next week to achieve that goal. Yennier Cano is currently positioned as the Orioles' primary closer.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Chance to pitch again in '23
Rotowire
General manager Mike Elias confirmed Monday that Bautista (elbow) is dealing with a partial tear of his UCL, but the Orioles maintain hope that the right-hander will be able to pitch again in 2023, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Though the Orioles plan to take a conservative approach with Bautista's recovery from the acute ligament injury, he's already resumed playing catch and hasn't required any platelet-rich plasma injections for his right elbow, per Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun. Elias suggested that the Orioles will continue to see how Bautista's elbow responds as the All-Star closer gradually ramps up the intensity of his throwing, but the 28-year-old is without a clear target date to return from the 15-day injured list. Additionally, Elias noted that surgery isn't necessarily off the table for Bautista, but the Orioles are likely to wait until the offseason before exploring any potential procedure.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Gets MRI, could need more tests
Rotowire
Manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday that Bautista has received an MRI on his injured right elbow, but the Orioles will wait for the inflammation in the pitcher's arm to subside before a decision is made on his next steps, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
The standout closer was placed on the 15-day IL on Aug. 26 with what the Orioles described as a UCL injury, but the severity of the issue still hasn't been disclosed. Once some of the elbow inflammation clears up, Bautista could get more tests that may shed more light on the extent of his injury. Regardless, Bautista appears safe to rule out for returning from the IL when first eligible next weekend, and even if he's able to steer clear of elbow surgery, he won't necessarily be a lock to pitch again in 2023.
