The Orioles announced this afternoon that closer Felix Bautista underwent successful Tommy John surgery today, with Dr. Keith Meister performing the procedure. The news comes as little surprise given Bautista’s surgery was announced prior to the end of the regular season by GM Mike Elias. The Orioles did not provide on update on Bautista’s timeline following the procedure, though he was already expected to miss the entirety of the 2024 campaign while rehabbing the surgery, with Spring Training 2025 as the stated goal for his return to the mound.
Bautista, 28, broke out in a big way during his sophomore season as a big leaguer to become one of the best relievers in baseball this year. Over 61 innings of work, Bautista posted a microscopic 1.48 ERA that was fifth-best in the majors among players with at least 50 innings of work this year while striking out 46.4% of batters faced this season. Not only did that strikeout rate lead the majors in 2023, but it was the seventh-best mark of all time among pitchers with at least 50 innings of work in a single season. Only Aroldis Chapman (2014), Craig Kimbrel (2012, 2017), Edwin Diaz (2022), and Josh Hader (2018, 2019) have ever posted higher strikeout rates in a season than Bautista did this year, putting him in truly elite company among the best closers of today’s game.
While Bautista has a lengthy rehab ahead of him as he looks to work his way back from, the right-hander won’t have to worry about his place on the Orioles as he works his way back. Elias revealed alongside the initial announcement of Bautista’s impending surgery that the sides had come together on a two-year guaranteed contract that will cover the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That leaves Bautista secure for his final pre-arbitration season and his first year of arbitration eligibility. He’ll make his first trip through the arbitration process after the 2025 campaign.
With Bautista set to spend the entire 2024 campaign on the 60-day IL the Orioles seem likely to look for reinforcements to their bullpen, which was only rivaled by that of the Dodgers in 2023, ahead of the 2024 campaign. Right-hander Yennier Cano had a strong season acting as Bautista’s primary set-up man and has filled the closer role acceptably in Bautista’s absence, while the likes of Danny Coulombe, Bryan Baker, and perhaps even converted starts such as DL Hall and Tyler Wells could impact next year’s relief corps. Still, external additions will surely be necessary to replace Bautista’s production. Hader stands atop the coming crop of free agent relief arms, though plenty of other interesting options figure to be available including Chapman, Matt Moore, Joe Jimenez, Jordan Hicks, and Hector Neris.
So….would DL Hall be an in-house option or is there still thinking that they want to stretch him out to be a starter?
Not a huge body of work to go on, but he does show signs of overpowering stuff, high strikeout rate, and guys haven’t been able to hit the ball hard off him.
Bullpen arms are easier to find than starter arms, but I don’t see the O’s shelling out big bucks for Hader or smaller bucks for some of the others mentioned.
I see a battle between Hall and Cano for the spot. One of them will get it, and it could be Cano with Hall winning a rotation spot. But I think Hall/Cano at the end of the game either way would also make a very formidable back of the bullpen.
I say go for the gusto and get Hader.
Bring him home! Grew up 20min from Camden Yards and drafted by his hometown team. Trading him hurt me, but we can right a wrong
F that though. $120MM for a closer is a waste of resources. We got canned because we need a rotation arm. Kremer isn’t a guy you want throwing the ball in a big postseason game.
I have confidence that Bradish and G-Rod will become guys that you do. Kremer’s a solid rotation guy for the reg season. But give me a Dog who can take the ball in October.
how do they know it’s successful? he’s probably lying in post-op. if he can rejoin the team in 15 months, THEN it will be successful.
For real. It always just seems like PR-speak. No team is going to come out and say “yeah, we’re assuming the doctor screwed that one up. Sorry, fans.”
The ability to throw 100 mph is independent of a successful surgery. They presumably repaired the UCL as planned, and he woke up from the anesthesia. I’d call that a successful surgery.
Looks like the Orioles didn’t need Bautista for the postseason anyway.
Easy there Ignorant, easy there. True, their season is on life support, but they’re not dead. It’s been a long while since they have been swept. At least they have that going for them. Gulp.
Annihilated.
At least we can take resolve that the lousy additions of Fuji and Flaherty didn’t make any difference. Weren’t ready for the next step and got pummeled.
Hopefully the guys remember the feeling and we’re better off next October. (With a couple additions to the club too)
Has there ever been an UN-successful Tommy John surgery?
I work in a department of surgery so there is that small chance they could have done the surgery on the wrong arm.
Bryan Baker should be in a different city next season. Nowhere near the orioles bullpen. Shouldn’t have been anywhere near it this postseason either.
Wow everyone online (including here) is holding Texas up like they’re the ’27 Yankees! They split 3-3 with the Orioles this year.
In the regular season they lined up very similarly to the Orioles. Their overall body of work was a very similar run differential (slightly better). The AL West had 2 other very competitive teams, one that was somehow bad again with Trout and Ohtani, and one godawful team though the schedule is more balanced this year. Their lineup was the AL’s best and clearly better than the Orioles. The top end of their rotation wasn’t as good as Bradish and Gray Rod in the 2nd half of the season but their bottom 2 are better than the Orioles 4-5. The Orioles bullpen was clearly superior. The Rangers were as unlucky or “unclutch” in close games (14-22) and extras (2-8) as the Orioles were lucky or “clutch” so very easily the Rangers could have been the 100 win team and the Orioles the 90 win team. In a 3 game series the Orioles starters faltered all 3 times which hasn’t happened in quite some time…maybe that was overdue. They’d done so well since July…maybe one bad game but not 3. The hitters only got to the Rangers’ bullpen once in 3 games. The Rangers hitters did enough in game 1 and performed in 2 and 3.
There’s no reason to overreact like the body of work and stats put up over 162 games was completely undone in 3 games. Hyde is no more the idiot who presided over the 47 win team than the genius who presided over the 101 win team (he’s in the middle – he’s not manager of the year but he’s not Dave Trembley). Yes the Orioles could strengthen their rotation, I have long lobbied for them to do it by getting a #1 starter to make it better from top to bottom. Surely they’ll find cheap and effective bullpen arms again, as they’ve done over most years except their very worst. Their lineup has holes (Mateo needs to go, they can do better than Frazier, etc.) and certainly continued development will come from Rutschman, Henderson, Westburg et al. But the sky’s not falling.