Felix Bautista left last night’s 5-4 Orioles win over the Rockies with an apparent injury. The star closer had recorded the first two outs of a save situation, but after throwing the fourth pitch of an at-bat against Michael Toglia, Bautista looked to be somewhat shaken up on the mound. Bautista then departed the game with a team trainer, and Danny Coulombe took over to record the final out.
In a postgame discussion with MLB.com’s Byron Kerr and other reporters, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said “Bautista left the game with some arm discomfort. He is still being checked out. I’m not going to discuss it any further than that. We are going to get a bunch of tests and see how it is.”
At this stage, it is too soon to tell whether or not Bautista’s issue is anything serious, or perhaps just a minor tweak that will only sideline him for a game or two. Still, even the possibility of a Bautista injury is a very notable storyline, as the closer has been such a key part of Baltimore’s rise to the best record in the American League.
Exploding onto the scene with a big rookie season in 2022, Bautista has taken things to an even higher level this year. The 28-year-old has a 1.48 ERA and a whopping 46.4% strikeout rate over 61 innings, converting 33 of 39 save opportunities. While his 11% walk rate is concerning, Bautista has been almost untouchable when he has been able to find the zone, and his four-seamer (averaging 99.6mph) is among the most dominating pitches in the sport.
The nature of Bautista’s injury isn’t known, but this isn’t the first time he has dealt with some manner of arm trouble. His offseason work and entry into Spring Training was hampered by some shoulder problems as well as knee soreness, though Bautista overcame both injuries and entered the season none the worse for wear, given his subsequent success.
Losing Bautista for any amount of time would be a big setback for the Orioles’ chances of winning the AL East (they hold a three-game lead over the Rays), or their chances of making a deep run into October. If Bautista was out of action, setup man Yennier Cano would be the logical candidate to step into the closer role, with Coulombe then becoming the top setup option. Conceivably, Hyde could divide the save opportunities between the right-handed Cano and the left-handed Coulombe based on specific in-game situations.
Prayer circle for Felix
No. It’s baseball, which is a game.
It’s not cancer or other illness, which is life.
You must be lots of fun to hang out with
And you bring everyone so much joy when you leave the room.
“Ooh, ooh, good comeback Potsi”…
I will pray if I want to. Was I going to before I read this nope
Prayer circle for sure
Shouldn’t be too big of a deal in the short term. Baltimore has Webb to throw out there as well.
HOWEVER. If the injury lingers into the postseason, I don’t think that bodes well for them. They will need all hands on deck as far as there pitching. They want Webb as the pivot guy in the 6th-7th, maybe earlier in the playoffs.
They rode him hard all season. It’s understandable bc he’s elite and was essentially untouchable until a couple weeks ago. However, it was inevitable he was going to hit some rough patches and/or get hurt with the frequency he was being used and with how hard he throws.
I thought they needed to add another bullpen arm or two at the deadline to be less dependent on Cano and Bautista.
They did. Fuji and Webb. Plus by adding a starter they are swing Wells back to the pen and they are preparing Hall to move to the pen for September. Plus they are shutting Bauman down to try to get him some rest for the stretch.
None of this helps much if Felix goes down but no team is ready when their closer goes down. Ask the Mets
I thought they should have added another starter to space out the innings for their current rotation. Most of their starters have either passed or are close to passing their previous inning highs. Another reliever would have helped too.
Every team in MLB is – and has been – looking for pitchers all year. Especially starters. They’re happy if they acquire a guy that can go 3-4 innings. All MLB teams have pitchers that are overworked (and few starters are on course to pitch 200 innings).
I’d estimate that at least 30-35% of ML pitchers that pitch each day of the season should be in AAA.
MLB is hardly the best of the best. It’s the best of who’s not injured each day.
Have been writing here for over a year that TJ surgeries went from an epidemic to SOP….and that’s sick.
Wrote this year that the playoffs and WS would be decided not by talent or smart play or strategies – but by which teams didn’t have as many injuries as the other teams…particularly to their pitchers.
Last night Orioles closer Felix Baurista went down, and even the Rockies color commentator pointed out that ligaments are only so strong, could only take so much pressure of a period of time, and that this love of higher and higher spin rates combined with the demand for speed was not sustainable for any pitcher.
This nonsense about throwing hard and spin rate and how hard a position player throws or runs or hits a ball to satisfy kid consumers that don’t understand the first thing about playing the sport may be generating revenue, which is fine for the recipients. But this is Roman Coliseum / people vs. the lions stuff; except those that participate can make obscene amounts of money before their careers are cut short.
Where are the owners that worry so about their “investments” in a player, when they have to pay him for the 18 months he doesn’t pitch….and when he does may not be the same? And the players agents – they scream about every little thing – but not about their pitching clients having their careers ruined?
Finally come the fans. Always last in line….
Games are still too long. Balls put in play are still too infrequent. Batting averages – yes, they count – are now at a league wide average of .249 (up from .248 after outlawing ‘The Shift’)…and it’s going to get worse next year. Fans pay to see action. Not an lot of K’s and an absurd amount of foul balls. Teams lose their best pitchers to injuries (among others, the Guardians – lost their 2 best starting pitchers to injuries for the season along with a few more for periods of time so their season went down the tubes). And then there’s the transactions – each team making 3 – 5 a week during the season; each team going through over 30 pitchers a season and now approaching 30 position players – with 13 each allowed on the roster). What fan has the time every day to keep up with this?
I’ve checked out for years at a time as an MLB fan. But this year might be it for me. The answer has always been:
ON THE 3RD FOUL BALL AFTER 2 STRIKES, THE BATTER IS OUT.
The pitcher being asked to “Miss Bats” (a saying fit for pseudo-hip 7 year-old’s) is absurd. All the baseball analytic garbage taught at Ivy League graduate schools boiled down to the best arbitrage play is that a batter gets a Walk after 4 balls – which inflates his .OBP (“A walk’s as good as a hit”); while the batter can hit foul balls till Super Bowl day and it’s all good.
Sometimes the buildup to the end result makes things more enjoyable. It’s not always speed that satisfies.
The way it should be.
@Samuel: You are verbose and long-winded, I’ll give you that.
But if all the pitchers you say should be at AAA were, whom do you think should pitch in MLB games?
And it should be obvious to you that the increase in TJ and other injuries is directly related to the increased effort and velocity required from today’s pitchers.
some interesting thoughts, but my advice is enjoy what you like, and dont mind the rest. some of us do have the time (or patience or will) to keep up with it all and breathe in every aspect of it, and the game is meant to evolve. pitchers are probably the best they ever have been, in terms of stuff and constant effort and level of play, but we are also bound by our bodies, and they break when they are pushed. some injuries are inevitable. maybe there is a change to how pitchers are developed, but it gets hard to pitch to contact when six or more guys in a lineup are making it to the majors on their power. injuries happen to every team, and a season is 162 games long so if a great team is fortunate enough to avoid major injuries, they deserve the WS that year. that is exactly what each team is trying to build for.
Foul balls are ruining baseball. Sure. That’s the problem.
Where’s the eyeroll emoji when you need it?
You throw hard all the time, something’s going to break. Owners are happy to develop hard throwers who might or might not last long in MLB but even if the players get big contracts, there is insurance. No incentive to develop starters that can actually pitch (not just throw) and last 8 innings or more.
The Angels don’t carry insurance for Ohtani.
Seen this over and over again. Throw really hard and fairly frequently you will be a high candidate for Tommy John. This may now be Tommy but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is.
Rays have been getting their pitchers to throw really hard and have been piling up the surgeries.
This is a fatal blow if he doesn’t come back for the playoffs. But there was absolutely no one on the trade market who could’ve replaced this guy. Short of Josh Hader, who wasn’t available. Injuries suck. Hope Felix is back in a few weeks.
Not a fatal blow. The Orioles have plenty of depth.
Not a fatal blow.
Relief pitcher BR WAR:
1. Bautista BAL
2. Diaz CIN
3. Cano BAL
Not a single playoff contender has anyone close to Cano. Not the Braves, not the Dodgers, not the Astros, Rangers, Phillies, Jays, Rays, etc., etc. The Os have lots of options beyond Cano and don’t need to put a lot of pressure on him.
They will be fine.
The orioles win so many 1 run games because of cano and Bautista at the back end.
It now becomes Cano & Coulombe/Hall/Wells/Fuji.
This loss will cost us games. Margins are tight in October. We can always win with what we have but it got a lot tougher. Certainly not knocks the probability down
The Orioles will be OK. One pitcher does not a team make. Means is shortly due back, Wells is lurking in AAA, and power lefty DL Hall is ready in Norfolk.
As for the person who said three fouls is a limit, that’s ridiculous.
60-65 innings is good for a late-inning reliever and Bautista is already there 80% of the way through the season.
It’s called “Tommy John”.
I hope not though.
Early yet. But any arm “discomfort” is certainly cause for alarm these days.
“Max effort throwing” is going to do nothing but create short careers. Go back to the good old days when pitchers actually knew how to pitch.
I would much rather watch Greg Maddux strike hitters out with pinpoint accuracy than watch these guys today rare back as hard as they can til their elbows blow out
Looks like it was a UCL injury of some sort
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