Félix Bautista is still expected to be ready for 2025 after receiving a right elbow debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition on Friday.
The Orioles say it won’t affect his timetable. It does rule out the slight chance that he could return from Oct. 2023 Tommy John surgery at the end of this season, but that seemed to be more his hope than the team’s. Given the additional problems, perhaps it’s somewhat less likely he’ll return in 2025 as the same dominant pitcher he was last year, at least early on. The Orioles are turning to Craig Kimbrel as their closer this year with Bautista on the shelf.