Baltimore Orioles' Félix Bautista To Take First Steps Towards Return
· Yahoo Sports
In the back end of the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen this season, it is no secret that the team has lacked high-leverage dominance from their relievers.
Visit tr-sport.click for more information.
When it came to putting an end to a close game, the Orioles have relied on closer Félix Bautista in the past, an arm they could deploy in any relief situation. It is no secret that Baltimore misses his services, but they are not too far off from seeing Bautista return this season.
Making his way back from injury, the Orioles announced Bautista will throw a bullpen on Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery last year.
Bautista has not played since July of last year when right shoulder discomfort sidelined him. Almost a month later, he underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum, leading to uncertainty about his availability in 2026.
However, an encouraging first step back at this stage of the season is huge for the flamethrowing right-hander.
The return of the closer is one that is not expected to be in the near future, but down the stretch of the second half this season. Bautista remains as a wild card of a player going forward, one that could impact the team heavily down the stretch of a potential postseason push.
The 31-year-old began a throwing program around two weeks ago, and the plans for his upcoming bullpen sessions are currently unknown.
After undergoing surgery last year, Bautista was given a timeline of 12 months to recover with a possibility that he could miss all of 2026. The injury was a significant setback, especially after Bautista had already endured a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery that held him out of the 2024 season.
When healthy, the 6-foot-8 reliever has proven that he is among the league’s best relief arms. Bautista has always been dominant, posting a 2.60 ERA in 35 games in 2025, but once sat atop the league as the American League Reliever of the Year recipient in 2023. He posted a 1.48 ERA and tossed 110 strikeouts in the campaign.
Since his absence, the Orioles have managed high-leverage situations with a closer-by-committee approach . The team signed closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million contract over the offseason, but he had missed most of the season with an injury upon returning last week.
With Bautista set to begin the bullpen phase of his recovery tomorrow, Baltimore remains encouraged, especially after their bullpen has shown recent flashes of consistency.