While the Baltimore Orioles have long since been relegated to planning for 2026, the team’s recent hot streak — Tuesday night’s extra-innings win over the Boston Red Sox made it six victories in their last seven, a stretch that not coincidentally aligns with team’s Opening Day lineup finally getting healthy — has given fans reason for optimism that the O’s could be right back into contention next season.
If they’re going to pull that off, though, they’re going to need to do it without their All-Star closer. Baltimore got the worst possible news on big righty Felix Bautista on Wednesday: The man they call The Mountain, who’s been on the shelf since July with a shoulder issue, has undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. According to MASN’s Roch Kubatko, he’ll be out for at least 12 months, throwing all of 2026 into jeopardy.
Bautista missed all of 2024 as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery, but he was back looking like his All-Star self this season, with a 2.60 ERA and 50 strikeouts in just 34.2 innings of work. Now he’s on the shelf again, and Baltimore will be back on the market for high-leverage help this winter.
Mike Elias is going to need to take a swing either via free agency or trade in order to compensate for the loss of Bautista. Luckily for he and his team, though, there are no shortage of options to consider.
5. Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays
Fairbanks comes with a reasonable team option for 2026 that the Rays will almost certainly pick up. But Tampa loves nothing more than staying one step ahead of free agency, so you can bet that the righty will be dangled in trade talks this offseason as the Rays look to get something in return rather than losing him for nothing next winter.
Fairbanks will be entering his age-32 season, but he shows no signs of slowing down, and he’s quietly established himself as one of the game’s most bankable relievers. He’s got a 2.81 ERA since he burst onto the scene in 2020, and while he’s lost a little velocity on his heater in the last year or two, his fastball/slider combination is still plenty effective. He’s not the overwhelming force he once was, but he knows this division and knows how to get outs, and he can likely be had for cheaper than some of the other names on this list.
4. Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
Why not keep Chapman’s AL East tour going? The lefty is still lighting up radar guns at age 37, and he’s authoring one of the very best seasons of his career for the Red Sox right now (1.13 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 69 strikeouts in 48 innings).
This wouldn’t be without risk, of course. Chapman can be a … problematic locker room presence, and we’ve seen his effectiveness come and go on a year-to-year (or even week-to-week) basis. Relievers are inherently volatile, and Chapman is no exception. Plus, while he shows no signs of slowing down, Father Time comes for us all eventually.
Then again, the ceiling is as high as anybody, and his age means that he’s likely to be attainable on a one-year deal. And there’s simply no making up for this sort of swing-and-miss stuff, especially in the era of the ghost runner in extra innings. If it clicks, he’ll once again be among the best values on the market.
3. Robert Suarez, San Diego Padres
Suarez can opt out of his deal with the Padres at the end of the season, and considering both his production to date and the fact that San Diego just brought in Mason Miller, that seems all but assured. He’s not the most overwhelming guy to call on at the end of games — mostly because he doesn’t miss nearly as many bats as you’d expect for someone who throws as hard as he does — but at a certain point the production speaks for itself.
Suarez has posted a 2.99 ERA across 117.1 innings over the past two seasons, with 69 saves in that span. He knows how to pitch in big moments, he throws lots of strikes and he’s got high-octane stuff. He will turn 35 in March, but there’s no sign of diminishing stuff right now, and he likely won’t break the bank due to his age and lack of eye-popping K numbers.
2. Ryan Helsley, New York Mets
Helsley isn’t doing his free agency any favors right now, as he’s posted a 7.11 ERA since coming over to the Mets at the trade deadline while earning boos from his home crowd. But he was excellent for the Cardinals prior to the trade, and he’s been among the better relievers in the sport for years now. It’s much more likely that this is simply a blip on the radar as he acclimates to a new city and a new pennant chase, especially considering that his underlying metrics all still paint the picture of a high-leverage guy.
Helsley’s fastball is getting uncharacteristically hit around right now, but it’s still an electric offering when he’s locating it, consistently cracking triple digits.
The chase rate and K rate are still elite, and he just turned 31 last month. The odds are good that he’ll be back to looking like an All-Star closer next season, and who knows, maybe his current struggles will depress his market a little bit.
1. Luke Weaver, New York Yankees
He might not have the save total or the name recognition as some of the guys above him on this list, but Weaver has done nothing but excel in whatever role the Yankees have asked of him over the last couple of years. Closer? Sure. Set-up man? You bet. Multiple innings? Whatever you need, Weaver has done it all and done it well.
Of course, he doesn’t have the longest track record of top-shelf relief work, and he’s about to turn 32 years old. The stuff is legit, though, and there’s little reason to believe that this is some sort of mirage or that the righty is due for regression.
The movement profile on his fastball is excellent, his changeup is a true putaway pitch and he can attack both righties and lefties equally. Weaver is a fit no matter what you need, in other words, and while the Yankees will likely be motivated to keep him, hurting a division rival is always an added bonus.
