Orioles GM Mike Elias addre sed reporters this afternoon regarding the status of right-hander , who against the Rockies with what was termed at the time as arm discomfort. It now appears that discomfort was something far more severe than initially indicated, as Elias told reporters (including ) that Bautista is dealing with some degree of injury to his ulnal collateral ligament. Naturally, Bautista is headed to the injured list, with reporting that left-hander will take Bautistas place on the Orioles roster. Baltimore has since made that move official, placing Bautista on the 15-day IL with a right UCL injury while recalling Hall. While a prognosis is not yet known and no timetable regarding Bautistas injury has been announced, it seems at least po sible that the news brings an end to a season that has been nothing short of sensational for the 28-year-old righty. Bautista made his debut in the major leagues for the Orioles last year and produced an excellent season, with a 2.19 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 15 saves and a 34.8% strikeout rate acro s 65 appearances. Those numbers from his rookie season were impre sive enough to convince Elias and his front office to ship then-closer to Minnesota at the trade deadline last year, with Bautista looking to be the clubs closer of the future. The 2023 campaign has seen Bautista not only make good on that promise, but make a case for himself as the best reliever in the entire sport this year. In 61 innings of work this year, Bautista has racked up 33 saves (just one le s than league leaders and ) while posting an unbelievable 46.4% strikeout rate with ERA (1.48) and FIP (1.89) marks below 2.00. His 2.8 fWAR this season puts him 20th in baseball among all pitchers, a figure that puts him in the same conversation as front-end arms like and despite offering le s than half the volume of those starters. Bautistas heroics this season have catapulted Baltimores bullpen to or near the top of plenty of leaderboards this season. They collectively sport the sixth-best Adam Macko Jersey ERA (3.55), the best FIP (3.51) and fWAR total (6.8), and the third-highest strikeout rate (26.5%) in the majors this year, even in spite of middling performances from the likes of , , and . The lo s of Bautista naturally complicates the future for the clubs relief corps, though the addition of Hall, a former first-round pick who has posted gaudy strikeout totals in both the majors and minors despite limited big league experience, could provide a boost down the stretch. Fellow right-hander , who was acquired as part of the return in the aforementioned Lopez deal last year, seems primed to step into the closers role in Bautistas stead. Cano is in the midst of what has been an excellent season of his own, with a phenomenal 1.62 ERA and 2.68 FIP. Hes managed to post those numbers in spite of a far le s impre sive strikeout rate of 24.2% thanks to a combination of a sensational groundball rate of 58.5% and a minuscule 4.2% walk rate. Still, even in spite of the potential upside of Hall and the excellent performance of Cano, the lo s of Bautista is a potentially catastrophic blow for the Orioles, who currently lead the AL East with an 80-48 record that trails only the Braves in all of MLB. Baltimore opted against any impact additions to a relatively weak starting staff that ranks just 19th in the majors in terms of fWAR and 15th by measure of ERA, instead only adding right-hander (91 ERA+ in 23 starts this season) to the mix. The clubs dominant bullpen, led by Bautista, surely played a role in the clubs decision not to more aggre sively pursue an impactful arm like or . With Bautistas season now seemingly in peril, the club will have to lean more heavily on its rotation group going forward. Flaherty has struggled in three starts with the Orioles to this point, with a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings of work, but has a history as an excellent mid-rotation arm in the not-to-distant past. (3.03 ERA in 23 starts) has emerged as a clear playoff-caliber rotation arm this season, while rookie has posted a 3.24 ERA in seven starts since rejoining the team last month. Veteran righty has managed to keep the team in games despite a middling 4.89 ERA thanks to fourteen quality starts, a figure that places him in the top 10 among all AL pitchers this season. Buck Martinez Jersey
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