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.