Baltimore Orioles Star Reliever Will Be Held Out of Spring Training Games

Baltimore Orioles executive Mike Elias shared the news that the team's star closer will be held out of Spring Training games until later in the spring.

Apr 1, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista (74) pitches during the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have gotten spring training underway in preparation for the 2025 season.

Expectations are high once again as they are on the cusp of being contenders in what looks to be a wide open American League. Outside of their AL East rival New York Yankees, a strong argument can be made that the Orioles are the best team in the league.

The potential is there for them to be have one of the top offenses in baseball.

Loaded with young talent that has already established themselves at the Major League level with even more players looking to break through in 2025, the sky's the limit for this group.

What will determine their level of success is the pitching staff, which is full of question marks.

The most pressing is how they will handle not having a prototypical ace to anchor their staff. With Corbin Burnes moving on in free agency, Grayson Rodriguez now looks to be their No. 1 with Zach Eflin behind him.

Incredible depth has been created to make up for the lack of an anchor. The front office also did a wonderful job with the bullpen, which looks like it could be amongst the best in baseball.

A determining factor in that coming to fruition will be Felix Bautista.

An All-Star in 2023, he missed the entire 2024 campaign because of an injury that required Tommy John surgery.

It was a huge blow to the Baltimore bullpen, as Craig Kimbrel was unable to successful fill that role. Their relief pitching was a weakness, but it looks like it could be the strength of the team in 2025.

Will they have their star closer back in the mix for Opening Day?

General manager Mike Elias provided an update on his status Thursday morning, via Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Grapefruit League appearances aren’t going to be made until at least late in the spring, as Bautista is going to do most of his work in preparation for the upcoming campaign on the backfields. But, Elias expressed optimism that Bautista will be available once the regular season gets underway.

Even if the star closer takes a little bit of time to round back into form, the Orioles have the arms in their bullpen to provide him whatever time that he needs.

Félix Bautista in the line of #Orioles pitchers getting in defensive work https://t.co/oXVbcj2rZm pic.twitter.com/Y5w0VDEmlR

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) February 13, 2025

Andrew Kittredge was one of the most underrated signings this offseason.

The former All-Star joins a loaded relief pitching staff that also includes Seranthony Dominguez, Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto and Cionel Perez.

If the Bautista that was seen in his first two Major League seasons returns to anchor that unit, the potential shortcomings of the starting rotation can be overcome since manager Brandon Hyde will only need four or five innings from whoever takes the ball first on some days.

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