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Up until August 25, Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista was a legitimate AL Cy Young contender.
He might still be, in the minds of some voters.
However, that’s the last day he pitched, as he has been on the injured list with an elbow injury.
The confirmed diagnosis came on Monday, and it doesn’t look great, per insider Chelsea Janes.
The takeaway here is the Orioles are going to see if Bautista can pitch through this. He’s “playing catch” now. Elias implied, though careful not to say so explicitly, that if he needs surgery, waiting a couple months won’t change his fate for 2024 anyway. So might as well. https://t.co/sftsMCDCaA
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) September 11, 2023
The bad news is that Bautista has damage to his UCL, but the good news is that he isn’t being shut down for the season just yet.
While it would be shocking to see such a high-leverage reliever (with a lot of stress on his arm stemming from a high-90s fastball) return this year, there is a chance.
The pitcher resumed playing catch last week, and even though he could undergo surgery after the season, it looks like he is going to try and come back in 2023 to aid the Orioles’ postseason run.
Still, there might be time for just a couple of appearances in late September, if he gets healthy enough in time.
Bautista has bee magnificent this season, with a 1.48 ERA in 61 innings.
He also has 110 strikeouts against just 26 walks.
He has serious credentials to be one of the finalists for the AL Cy Young award.
There is no doubt that he has been baseball’s best and most dominant reliever in 2023.
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