Rival Teams Take Stance on if Orioles Will Trade Felix Bautista

The Baltimore Orioles made their first notable trade prior to the deadline.

By shipping Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays, that seems to indicate what the front office is planning to do ahead of July 31.

They previously stated they were undecided about what direction they were going to take, but moving one of their most effective bullpen arms suggests more selling moves are set to come.

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That has firmly put Felix Bautista back into the forefront of minds across the baseball world.

It would have been crazy to suggest the 2023 Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year winner could be traded even as little as a few months ago, but a disastrous season has put just about everything on the table when it comes to improving this roster so something like this doesn't happen again.

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However, it seems like the Orioles aren't willing to be that drastic with their sale.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, rival teams "do not believe that Baltimore will trade closer Felix Bautista."

That should at least make this fanbase sigh in relief for now.

Despite the potential return the right-hander could have netted, moving him never seemed to make a lot of sense based on the current window Baltimore is in where they are a few roster tweaks away from competing at the top of the American League.

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And with Bautista getting better and better coming off his long layoff after undergoing Tommy John surgery -- owning a 2.41 ERA with 18 out of his 19 save opportunities converted -- trading away one of the best closers in the game doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Things could change before the deadline, but it sounds like the Orioles aren't going to trade Bautista.

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