Returning Star for Baltimore Orioles Could Have Impacted Offseason Plans

Will the return of an All-Star be the difference maker for the Baltimore Orioles?

Apr 3, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista (74) delivers a pitch to the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have kicked off Spring Training, and all eyes will be on the franchise after an interesting offseason.

This winter, the Orioles had a lot of pressing questions to address regarding some key players from last year.

Both Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes hit free agency as two of the top players who were available, and unfortunately for Baltimore, both players signed elsewhere.

While the production of Santander might be replaced with the signings they made this offseason and the development of some other younger talent in the batting order, the Orioles didn’t effectively replace their ace.

The additions of Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano will provide some depth in the rotation, but they are lacking a No. 1 guy.

Baltimore could add a pitcher of that caliber on the trade market at some point from now until the trade deadline, but if they don’t, they will be relying more on their bullpen to help out.

Luckily, one of their best players will be returning from injury to help with that.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com recently spoke about the players coming back from injury who he's keeping an eye on this spring.

For the Orioles, he highlight how the return of Felix Bautista will be a significant one since the 29-year-old flamethrower appears like he will be 100% healthy on Opening Day.

In 2023, Bautista was one of the best closers in the game. He totaled an 8-2 record, 33 saves, 1.48 ERA and struck out 110 batters in 61 innings pitched.

The talented right-hander is going to be a difference-maker out of the bullpen, and his return might have impacted how the team viewed the starting rotation.

Even though they had an ace in Burnes in 2024, it didn’t help them win a game in the postseason. Baltimore very well might want to use assets and resources to build a lights-out bullpen around Bautista, which could be a successful formula in October.

Despite a hard-to-judge offseason for the Orioles in which they finally spent some money but lost two key free agents, the return of their closer is a significant deal.

Hopefully, the 29-year-old will have a good Spring Training to knock off the rust and return to All-Star form in 2025.