Bautista Returns to Mound
Baltimore Orioles closer Félix Bautista took a step toward returning to the majors on Sunday afternoon, when he pitched in his first game since sustaining a right shoulder injury on July 20, 2025. The 31-year-old right-hander, who underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum on Aug. 19, 2025, began a rehab assignment with Double-A Chesapeake.
In Chesapeake's series finale against Richmond, Bautista recorded one out, giving up one hit and issuing three walks while allowing three earned runs during a 22-pitch, 10-strike outing. His velocity was reportedly sitting around 95 mph and maxing out at 97 mph, according to reports from Prince George's Stadium.
If all goes well with his recovery, Bautista said the plan is to move to Triple-A Norfolk for more outings during the upcoming week.
Positive Signs and Mindset
Despite the mixed results, Bautista expressed confidence in his recovery. "The body is feeling great," he said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. "There haven't been any setbacks or anything like that, so I'm feeling really good."
Bautista emphasized that his focus is on health, not velocity. "I'm not really focused on the velocity right now," he said. "My focus is doing whatever I can to stay healthy."
This latest injury was the second significant setback for the 31-year-old, who missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2023. He returned in 2025 and recorded a 2.60 ERA with 19 saves in 34 2/3 innings over 19 appearances.
"It was another very difficult process, considering it was almost the same timeline as Tommy John, missing almost the same amount of time with those injuries," Bautista said. "But I tried to stay mentally strong and persevere."
In the time he has been healthy, Bautista has been one of baseball's top closers. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native owns a career 2.01 ERA in 104 games over three seasons and has notched 67 saves, 33 of which came during his 2023 campaign.
Orioles' Bullpen Landscape
Baltimore signed right-hander Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million contract this past offseason, knowing Bautista would be sidelined for most or all of the season. However, Helsley has himself missed time due to two right elbow injuries. He is currently on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, having posted a 4.11 ERA with 8 saves in 17 appearances this season. He has been throwing over the past couple of weeks, but it isn't clear when or if he will return to Baltimore's bullpen.
In Helsley's absence, the Orioles have been closing by committee, with right-handers Andrew Kittredge and Yennier Cano among those getting save opportunities. Bautista could retake the closer's role upon his return, though the team will likely want to be cautious with his workload initially.
It isn't known when Bautista could be back in the majors, as he'll likely need quite a few rehab appearances to get reacclimated to game situations. But it's encouraging that he's already pitching in the minors at this point, making a mid-September return quite realistic.
Bautista had been rehabbing at the Orioles' Spring Training complex in Sarasota, Florida, throwing routine bullpen sessions throughout the summer before progressing to live batting practice on Aug. 4.