Since Felix Bautista went down with shoulder discomfort at the end of July, there was a sense of inevitability that the All-Star closer would need surgery.

The Baltimore Orioles have announced that Bautista will be undergoing surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his right shoulder. It’s far too early for any return timeline to be established for Bautista, but there is a general expectation he will be out for the next 12 months.

Bautista was placed on the IL on July 24, and once the first week of August arrived and the Orioles were still waiting for Bautista’s swelling to go down before completing an MRI, it felt like the next update wasn’t going to be a good one.

Especially when the Orioles confirmed last week that Bautista would not return for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Optimistically, there may be a chance that Bautista returns near the end of the 2026 season if his recovery goes as planned, but injury management has been a strength of this current regime.

It’s hard not to feel for Bautista, who is having a major surgery for the second time in the last three years. After the 2023 season, Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.

Orioles drop the dreaded Felix Bautista update everyone saw coming

It hasn’t been an ideal month when it comes to planning the Orioles’ 2026 pitching staff. Before surgery was confirmed for Bautista, the Orioles revealed earlier this month that starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez was undergoing elbow debridement surgery.

Rodriguez had been working his way back from a spring training injury, but it was riddled with injury setbacks before surgery was confirmed.

That stated plan from Mike Elias has been that the Orioles will return to contention in 2026.

The surgery for Bautista only confirms it won’t be an easy task for the Orioles’ general manager.

The Orioles’ bullpen has become a cast of misfits after the trade deadline, and the deficiencies will need to be addressed this offseason.