As Orioles reliever Félix Bautista looks to re-establish himself as one of the top closers in baseball, former Orioles reliever Brad Brach says to pay close attention to how Bautista bounces back from outings and believes Yennier Cano can handle the ninth inning when Bautista isn’t available.
Bautista made his 2025 debut on March 29, striking out the side in a scoreless ninth inning to close out a 9-5 win against the Blue Jays in Toronto. It marked his first regular-season outing since he suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow in August 2023.
Now, the important thing is how Bautista feels the day after his outings, according to Brach.
“I think the biggest thing you want to see with him is just his recovery, hearing the reports from the team,” Brach said on Glenn Clark Radio March 28. “After a day where he throws, how does he feel? Is he available two days from then? Because I’m sure they won’t throw him back to back right away out of the gate. Hopefully he’s bouncing back healthy. That’s kind of the phrase you want to hear [when] talking about him.”
Prior to his outing on March 29, Bautista made six Grapefruit League outings to gear up for the season. The 6-foot-8, 285-pound right-hander felt good after each outing, which was primarily what the Orioles were hoping for out of Bautista during camp even if the results (four runs, six hits and four walks in 5.1 innings) weren’t eye-popping.
Now, it’s about Bautista working his way through a six-month regular-season marathon. Brach, who made 531 relief appearances for six teams from 2011-2021, says the more stressful outings will be the real tests.
“Honestly, one of the biggest things I’d want to see is an extended outing for him, whether it’s 20-plus pitches, 25, 30 pitches, how he feels after that,” Brach said. “Because those are the ones you strain a little bit more, especially being a closer or eighth-inning guy. He’s going to have a little bit more strain. Even for himself, I’m sure those are the outings he’s going to be looking forward to, to see how he feels after those.”
Bautista didn’t throw on back-to-back days in the spring, and the Orioles figure to continue to shy away from that in the early going. Manager Brandon Hyde has a few options with closing experience when Bautista isn’t available to pitch, including righty sinkerballer Yennier Cano and power lefty Gregory Soto.
Brach would go with Cano in the ninth when Bautista can’t go.
“I think for him it’s not being the everyday closer, but I think he’s an awesome guy to go to when the spot’s available,” Brach said. “I was kind of in his spot when I was in Baltimore — seventh, eighth inning, but when they needed me to close it was easier to do that than when you’re thrown in the everyday closer role. There’s just something different about pitching in the ninth inning. I think he’s a perfect guy to go to. He’s done it before, and he was great in that role when Félix was healthy a couple years ago also.”
For more from Brach, listen to the full interview here:
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