Orioles' Felix Bautista: Good to go for Opening Day
Rotowire
Manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday that Bautista will be included on Baltimore's Opening Day roster, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
There was some recent concern that Bautista wouldn't be ready to go for the start of the regular season, but the skipper put those thoughts to bed Sunday. The right-hander spent most of camp in ramp-up mode while working his way back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, but he's been cleared after making five spring appearances. The 29-year-old recorded 33 saves with a 1.48 ERA during the 2023 regular season and should begin the campaign as the Orioles' closer.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Might not be ready for Opening Day
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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday that Bautista (elbow) is not a guarantee to be on the Opening Day roster, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Bautista is considered healthy as he comes back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, but he's still in ramp-up mode and the Orioles could decide he's not ready yet. The righty has made four Grapefruit League appearances, allowing three runs with a 7:1 K:BB. Bautista is throwing on the back fields Thursday and it's not clear when he might make another game appearance. If Bautista isn't included on the Opening Day roster, Seranthony Dominguez and/or Gregory Soto could fill in at closer.
Orioles' Felix Bautista: Cleared for spring debut Monday
Rotowire
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that Bautista (elbow) -- who will make his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox -- won't pitch back-to-back days or cover more than one inning early on in the season, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista projects to open the season as the Orioles' closer, barring any setbacks during his appearances in the spring as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in October 2023. However, for occasions in which Bautista is unavailable, Hyde said he would "mix and match" at closer those days, with the manager naming Andrew Kittredge (knee), Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez as options to fill in. Hyde noted that he'll apply the cautious usage of Bautista "especially in the first half." The Orioles don't seem to have a hard deadline for when the restrictions on Bautista will be lifted, as it likely just depends on how the pitcher looks and is bouncing back from outings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Spring debut expected Monday
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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that he's hopeful that Bautista (elbow) will make his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
The Orioles will presumably wait and see how Bautista bounces back from his latest throwing session before locking him into Monday's pitching schedule, but up to this point, the right-hander has seemingly responded well to all of the bullpen and live batting practice sessions he's logged thus far in spring. Assuming he gets the green light to pitch Monday, Bautista will be making his first appearance in a game since August 2023, after he missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now nearly 17 months removed from the procedure, Bautista should be on track to open the season as the Orioles' closer, provided he makes it through his spring appearances with no complications. Before suffering the elbow injury in 2023, Bautista had been one of baseball's top closers that season, turning in a 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 110:26 K:BB while notching 33 saves in 39 chances over 61 innings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Shines in latest bullpen session
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw approximately 25 pitches Thursday in his second live batting practice session of the spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The hard-throwing right-hander faced Heston Kjerstad four times and Gary Sanchez three times during the session, recording three strikeouts among the seven plate appearances. Bautista is expected to throw live BP sessions on one or two more occasions before making his Grapefruit League debut in the first or second week of March. Manager Brandon Hyde has set seven spring appearances -- either in Grapefruit League games or on the back fields at camp -- as the benchmark Bautista needs to hit to make himself an option for the Opening Day bullpen.
Orioles' Felix Bautista: Needs multiple additional live BPs
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) will throw a couple more live batting practice sessions before getting into game action, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
It's worth noting that Kubatko reported Monday that Bautista said he "should" get in a game after this week's session, and now it sounds like he'll need at least one more live BP before getting into games next week at the earliest. He will either throw Wednesday or Thursday after throwing 25 pitches Sunday.
Bautista (elbow) will throw one more live batting practice session this week before getting into a spring training game, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Bautista threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session Sunday and will throw to hitters again either Wednesday or Thursday. The next step could be his Grapefruit League debut, perhaps in the first week of March. He still has to hit these checkpoints, but Bautista's recovery appears on track for him to be Baltimore's closer at the start of the season.
Orioles' Felix Bautista: Takes big step toward return
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw live batting practice Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Bautista's throwing session Sunday represented the first time he has faced live hitters since he underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2023. The 29-year-old stated last week that he's confident in his ability to be ready to pitch by Opening Day, and all signs so far point to that scenario being a legitimate possibility. However, Bautista isn't expected to appear in any Grapefruit League contests until late in spring training, and how he fares when he gets back on the mound in exhibition play could be a determining factor in his return date for regular-season action.
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