Orioles insider throws cold water on team pursuing top Felix Bautista replacements

By now, it's no surprise that the Baltimore Orioles' top priority this offseason must be fixing their woeful pitching staff. This won't (or at least shouldn't) be a simple band-aid job, as reinforcements are needed in both the rotation and the bullpen.

Out in the pen, the biggest hole that must be filled is finding a replacement for All-Star closer Felix Bautista, whose devastating injury will keep him out for all of 2026 while also threatening 2027. That would seemingly force the Orioles to spend big on a closer, but the need for other bullpen arms and a rotation leader could syphon off those resources.

As Roch Kubatko of MASN points out, there will be several competing priorities that might take the top-tier options off the table.

Orioles' plethora of needs may force them to look at second-tier closers

The free-agent closer market is a difficult one this offseason. The top two options, Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez, have opt-outs that they would have to exercise in order to hit the open market. There's a decent likelihood that each could make more if they were to test their luck, so it's likely they will become available.

But they'll both also have price tags that will be approaching $20 million a year. The Orioles have other needs besides someone to handle the ninth. They need at least one top-of-the-rotation starter, two or three other bullpen arms that can also handle high-leverage innings, plus a veteran bat in the outfield. That probably takes the prospect of paying $18-20 million for a closer off the table.

And that might not be such a bad thing. Relievers are volatile, even the best of them. Tanner Scott was the top closer on the market last offseason and secured a whopping four-year, $72 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He'd go on to post a 4.74 ERA in 2025.

At this time last year, the top two ninth-inning arms projected to hit the market now would have been Devin Williams of the New York Yankees and Ryan Helsley of the New York Mets. Both were demoted from closer work due to poor performance in 2025.

So what does that second tier contain? Well, there will be some veterans nearing the end of the road, like Kenley Jansen (2.59 ERA, 29 saves in 2025) or, if he wants to pitch again in 2026, David Robertson (4.08 ERA in 17.2 innings). There are the bounce-back candidates like the aforementioned Williams and Helsley. Other guys who don't fit into either group, like Emilio Pagan or Kyle Finnegan, could be options as well.

What matters most isn't that Baltimore gets the best ninth-inning arm as long as they get a competent one and support him with a quality starting rotation and a solid setup staff. If Mike Elias can pull that off, then the offseason very well may be a success.