Bautista last pitched on July 20th when he recorded his 19th save of the season.
The 30-year-old will continue to miss even more time. He missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and other procedures that included elbow debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition (UCL).
Bautista is arbitration-eligible for the next two years, meaning the O's could keep him on the team as he recovers. However, some are speculating that this will end Bautista's career.
In what could be a very unfortunate and short-lived career, it was undoubtedly a dominant one at that.
After making his big-league debut in 2022 for the Os, Bautista became an All-Star just a year later, going on to post 33 saves and a 1.48 earned run average. He struck out a whopping 110 batters in 61 innings, putting him in Cy Young Award conversations for the year.
Bautista finally made his long-awaited return earlier this season, jumping to No. 9 on the Orioles' all-time saves list with 67 despite, basically, only playing a total of two full seasons for his career.