Orioles To Reinstate Félix Bautista, Shut Down Ryan Helsley

12:26pm: The Orioles are optioning lefty Cade Povich to Triple-A Norfolk to create room on the 28-man roster for Bautista, according to Rill. The team still needs to clear a 40-man spot. 12:08pm: Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced the team will reinstate right-handed reliever Félix Bautista from the 60-day injured list on Saturday. However, the O’s will shut down injured reliever Ryan Helsley for the year, Elias added (via Jake Rill of MLB.com). Bautista, who last pitched in the majors on July 20, 2025, is finally returning 14 months after shoulder problems forced him to the injured list. He wound up undergoing surgery that August to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum. It was the latest serious injury for Bautista, who missed all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. While good health has eluded Bautista over the past couple of years, the 6-foot-8 flamethrower has been dominant when he has taken the mound. From his 2022 debut through 2023, Bautista posted a spectacular 1.85 ERA with a league-leading 40.4% strikeout rate (against a 10% walk rate) over 126 2/3 innings. He notched 33 saves in his second season, earned an All-Star nod and took home AL Reliever of the Year honors. After a year-long layoff, Bautista returned to throw 34 2/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball last season. While primarily relying on a hard sinker, Bautista put up a career-best 50.7% ground-ball rate and a strong 35.2% strikeout rate. Those figures helped offset a personal-worst 16.2% rate for Bautista, who converted 19 of 20 save opportunities. Bautista began a minor league rehab assignment on Aug. 23 and had a rough first outing with Double-A Chesapeake, where he walked three and allowed three earned runs in a third of an inning. He fared much better at Norfolk, however, with a 2.35 ERA and nine strikeouts against four walks over 7 2/3 frames. The 31-year-old will now get a chance to contribute on a Baltimore team that still has an outside shot at the playoff berth. Despite a lackluster 75-79 record, the Orioles are three games out of a Wild Card spot. Regardless of where they finish, the O’s are likely to tender Bautista a contract in his final year of arbitration eligibility in 2027. He is making an affordable $2.25MM, which shouldn’t increase much (if at all) after a lost season. More to come… View Comments (6)