Orioles’ Félix Bautista Undergoes Tommy John Surgery, Will Miss Entire 2024 Season
Baltimore Orioles closer Félix Bautista is expected to be sidelined until the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this week.
The 28-year-old underwent a successful procedure to repair the partially torn UCL in his right elbow, the team announced via social media. It was performed by Dr. Keith Meister at the Trinity Park Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas.
Bautista suffered the injury while working the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25th. He left the game with what was initially described as right-arm discomfort.
At first, Baltimore hoped the towering 6-foot-5 reliever could return at some point this season, ideally during the playoffs. But after throwing multiple bullpen sessions and a simulated game in September, Orioles GM Mike Elias announced he’d miss the rest of the year with TJ surgery.
The 2023 All-Star released a statement following his operation Monday night, shared by international MLB reporter Héctor Gómez, thanking Orioles fans for their outpouring of support over the last several weeks.
“Thank you all for your support and prayers. I value every positive message. Unfortunately, I won’t be pitching again this season. I wanted to help during the postseason, but it’s best for me and the team if I focus on recovery. It’s been an honor playing with the Orioles this year, and I’ll keep supporting them. Thanks for your ongoing support. I hope to be back pitching soon.”
Elias also revealed the Orioles inked Bautista to a two-year contract extension last month, buying out his final pre-arbitration year and his first arbitration one. He remains under team control through the 2027 campaign.
The Dominican native displayed flashes of dominance last season and parlayed that into a breakout performance in 2023, leading all major league relievers in strikeouts (110), K-BB rate difference (35.4%) and FIP (1.88). He also finished tied for first in fWAR (2.8).
Despite missing the regular season’s final month, Bautista also ranked tied for eighth in saves (33) while registering the fourth-lowest ERA (1.48).
Baltimore’s bullpen, while severely weakened, remains in good hands at the back end, with Yennier Cano operating as the club’s interim closer. Still, there’s no replacing one of the sport’s most dominating relievers.
To Cano’s credit, the 29-year-old rookie performed fairly well down the stretch during his inaugural stint as the go-to arm in the ninth, converting four saves with eight strikeouts over his final 11.2 innings of the regular season. Cionel Pérez, Tyler Wells and Danny Coulombe have also played vital roles in high-leverage situations recently.
With Bautista likely to miss all of next season, the Orioles will undoubtedly seek to fortify that group this winter, especially amidst a strong class of free-agent relievers – headlined by Josh Hader and Jordan Hicks.
Up to this point, Baltimore’s front office – specifically, owner Peter Angelos – has shied away from agreeing to lucrative contracts. Given the success of this year’s club, which captured its first AL East Division title since 2014, perhaps they’ll break that trend in the coming months.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.