Baltimore Orioles Star Closer is MLB's Best According to Former Executive

Finishing the year with the American League's best record will bring national attention to a team.

That's certainly the case with the Baltimore Orioles after this upstart group won 101 games during the regular season.

Official MLB Awards won't be handed out until after the World Series, but the Orioles have a few people in their organization who should take home some hardware.

Jim Bowden, a former front office executive, put together his own All-MLB team for The Athletic.

He says that Baltimore's star closer is the best reliever in baseball.

"Felix Bautista was the best closer in baseball before suffering a season-ending injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Bautista posted a 1.48 ERA and recorded 33 saves. He struck out 110 in 61 innings with 26 walks and 30 hits allowed (0.918 WHIP). He ranked in the 98th percentile in pitching run value and the 96th percentile in fastball run value," Bowden writes.

When Bautista went down, it clearly affected the Orioles for the rest of the season.

Despite the success they still had, manager Brandon Hyde had to use a committee to close out games based on matchups.

Their star closer is expected to miss all of the 2024 season as he recovers from surgery, which could cause the front office to add a closer during free agency.

They could also slide Yennier Cano into the full-time role and wait for Bautista to return in 2025 if they feel like he can be the same type of player as he was in 2023.

Either way, the honor recognizes how great of a season Bautista had last year and how much he will be missed next season.