Felix Bautista’s surgery should force Orioles outside their comfort zone this offseason

The Baltimore Orioles went from seeing Felix Bautista as one of the top trade chips at the deadline to being a complete non-factor for the foreseeable future after he underwent surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum. Absolutely brutal.

While Baltimore was already planning for life without Bautista if the rumors prior to his injury were true, the idea was to get a haul for a hot commodity. Instead, Mike Elias significantly underwhelmed in the moves he was able to make.

Without a treasure trove of prospects for their trouble, Baltimore now faces the reality that Bautista won't pitch in 2026, and likely will need some time to knock off the rust in 2027 when his contract expires. That means the Orioles are going to have to do something uncomfortable and dip their toes into the closer market this offseason, either via free agency or trade.

Orioles facing the unappetizing prospect of acquiring a new closer in the offseason

With Gregory Soto being moved to the New York Mets at the trade deadline, Baltimore has been left without a competent closer on the roster. Their current closer-by-committee approach is fine for a lost season, but if the Orioles truly intend to compete in 2026, they're going to make a move here.

That's a tough position for an organization that has been reticent to invest significant assets in the closer position, but without any viable internal options, they're going to need one for both the near-term and long-term.

There's too much baseball left to truly project what the offseason trade market might look like, but the projected free-agent reliever class... leaves a lot to be desired.

The best options are the most unlikely, with the likes of Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez possessing opt-outs that they may or may not exercise, which they only would do if there's a sense they'll get significant raises. That likely eliminates them from the realm of realism for the Orioles.

From there, options like Aroldis Chapman, Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen, and David Robertson are the most accomplished. But with all of them pushing 40 (or 41 in Robertson's case) there are questions as to how long they will be viable.

The next tier consists of reclaimation projects. Atlanta's Raisel Iglesias hasn't been up to his past standards, but if he can get his homer problem under control could be a decent option. On the other hand, Devin Williams of the New York Yankees would require a major overhaul that might not be worth the risk, even at a bargain price.

At the end of the day, Baltimore will be in a tough spot and will need to get creative to find a solution to the late innings. The trade market might pan out to be the best option, depending on how things shake out, but either way, the Orioles need to prepare to do something that makes them uncomfortable.

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