Why the Orioles shouldn't be worried about Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano

The conversation surrounding the struggles of the 2025 Baltimore Orioles has seldom centered around the bullpen. Too often, a starting pitcher has taken Baltimore out of the game within the first few innings, or the offense hasn't put up enough runs to give the bullpen high-leverage situations.

Close games or not, the two best arms in the O's 'pen have been slumping as of late.

On Wednesday, Felix Bautista jogged through the outfield for his second appearance in as many days. It was his first time pitching a back-to-back since his Tommy John surgery, with interim manager Tony Mansolino noting that "it's been part of the organizational plan at about this point to start the process for him."

That part of the afternoon was significant, as was Bautista's first blown save of the season. It also marked the fourth straight outing in which he allowed an earned run. Being used more often wasn't the issue. In fact, it may have been the opposite.

"I think my command hasn't been there, but I don't think it was necessarily because of the back-to-back." Bautista said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. "I think more so it might be because I didn't pitch for four or five days before this. As any pitcher goes through, sometimes you lose the rhythm a little bit."

Expect "The Mountain" to be back on track pitching on a more regular schedule.

What about Yennier Cano?

That same logic doesn't apply to Yennier Cano, who has allowed an earned run in three consecutive appearances. His outings have been much more regular, but the results have been anything but.

Quite simply, Cano needs to throw strikes down in the zone, inducing ground balls and limiting damage.

Cano's strike rate is down to 61 percent in May. In April, when Cano didn't allow an earned run, that number was up at 66 percent. In those nine appearances in April, opposing hitters hit 14 ground balls, compared to eight grounders in his eight outings this month.

Cano's track record suggests that this is just a blip on his radar. The right-hander also had a stretch of three consecutive games with an earned run in 2024. He finished that season with a 3.15 ERA.

Bautista and Cano still figure to be, and should be, key pieces at the back-end of the bullpen. The addition of Andrew Kittredge should alleviate some pressure in high-leverage situations, too.

If the Orioles are going to salvage their season, they'll need everything to go right. Bautista and Cano getting back on track would go a long way in helping that.

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