Baltimore Orioles All-Star reliever Felix Bautista will undergo Tommy John surgery in October and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.
The 28-year-old right-hander partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during a game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25.
Bautista was hoping to delay the surgery and pitch in the postseason for Baltimore, but rest and rehab and then throwing didn't provoke the needed results.
"It's obviously really disappointing, the night he got hurt, but these things happen," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "Not the first guy to have Tommy John surgery and he's going to come back better for it. But disappointed that he's not going to be with us for the postseason.
"We were pretty aware that he was going to have this type of surgery, so I just give the guy a ton of credit for doing everything he could to pitch in the postseason. Wanted to be with his teammates and pitch and be part of it. He has busted his butt since the night he got hurt just to have the chance to. We love the guy."
Bautista threw 25 pitches in a live batting situation to minor-leaguer Ramon Rodriguez on Tuesday. Baltimore management watched but knew the end result would be the surgical procedure.
"That was kind of the long-term conclusion as soon as we had our arms around the injury and got the imaging and the various medical opinions," Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. "That said, everybody involved -- and of course to Felix's credit, bless his heart -- realized there might be a window to sort of keep his arm throwing, up and running, but we just ran out of time for this to be a feasible and successful option for the postseason. And it's not making sense, so we went ahead and scheduled the surgery."
Bautista was superb this season with an 8-2 record, 33 saves and 110 strikeouts in just 61 innings over 56 appearances. He has 48 saves and 198 strikeouts in 121 appearances in two big-league seasons, both with the Orioles.
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