Felix Bautista To Undergo TJ Surgery
The Baltimore Orioles are the one seed in the American League but won’t have the hammer they’ve relied on at the end of games. If the Orioles want to win the World Series, they’re going to have to do it without All-Star closer Felix Bautista. The O’s power reliever will undergo Tommy John surgery and likely won’t pitching in 2024 either.
The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes was the first to report the news. The O’s have also agreed to pay Bautista while he will be sidelined for next season. The deal covers his pre-arb years. He’s only going to be earning $2 million next year while he’s out. A very affordable deal while he recovers from injury.
Bautista, 28, had a monster 2023 season with Baltimore. He was also a hero on my fantasy baseball team if anyone cares about that. In 56 games this year, Bautista posted a 1.48 ERA to go along with 33 saves. The Dominican-born product also posted a ridiculous 16.2 K per 9 rate. He’s arguably the best closer in the sport and this should absolutely be viewed as a big loss.
The positive is that Yennier Cano has also been a stud all season. Cano, 29, has posted a 2.19 ERA in 71 games for Baltimore. He’s been a total workhorse for the club and will now fill the closer role for the O’s. Baltimore is going to need guys like Shintaro Fujinami and Cionel Perez to be shutdown guys come the postseason.
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