Bautista returns from injury with perfect spring debut

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Before Félix Bautista was a lockdown reliever, he got a small taste of being a starter as a 22-year-old with the Orioles’ Dominican Summer League team in 2017.

Now 27 and serving as Baltimore’s closer, Bautista will be tasked with pitching mostly in the ninth inning in 2023. Not Tuesday afternoon, though, when he made a rare start for his first Grapefruit League appearance of the year, a decision made by manager Brandon Hyde to ensure the right-hander got a “proper warmup” prior to his return to game action.

“It was really cool,” Bautista said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It brought back some memories.”

Bautista’s performance in the Orioles’ 7-6 win over the Pirates at LECOM Park evoked other memories for spectators -- ones from his terrific 2022 rookie season in which he emerged as a dominant bullpen arm. He showcased his typical electric stuff vs. Pittsburgh, working a breezy first inning in which he retired the side in order on 15 pitches.

After being shut down early last October due to left knee discomfort, which caused him to miss the final five games, Bautista had a slow ramp-up this spring while rehabbing the injury and strengthening his right shoulder, in which he experienced fatigue late last season. Early in camp, he threw a handful of bullpen sessions and a pair of live batting practices, which led up to Tuesday.

On his first pitch to Oneil Cruz, Bautista pumped in a 98.1 mph fastball for a strike. He then got Cruz to swing through a pair of splitters -- Bautista’s wipeout pitch that’s one of the nastiest offerings in MLB -- for a three-pitch strikeout. The towering 6-foot-8 righty known as “The Mountain” was back like he was never gone.

“It was his first time out there -- it feels like he’s been out there for a while,” Hyde said, adding that Bautista’s debut went “as well as it possibly could.”

Bautista got Bryan Reynolds to ground out for the second out of the first. Then, Bautista won a seven-pitch battle with Ji-Man Choi, freezing the veteran left-handed hitter on a 97.3 mph high-and-away fastball for a called third strike.

Of Bautista’s 15 pitches, 10 were strikes. He threw 10 four-seamers (which averaged 97.9 mph and touched 99) and five splitters.

“I feel really confident with how everything is going, with where my body’s at, and it’s a big reason why I felt really good today,” Bautista said.

Bautista remains focused on trying to be prepared for Opening Day. He said his next scheduled outing will be in Friday’s road game vs. the Twins in Fort Myers, Fla. After that, Bautista estimates he’ll need two or three additional game appearances to be ready for March 30, when the Orioles begin the season in Boston.

Does Bautista think that’s realistic at this point in his process?

“I do think so,” Bautista said. “I think the possibility is definitely there, now that I already made an appearance.”

Hyde’s thoughts on Henderson’s spring
Gunnar Henderson, the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, has flashed the leather at both shortstop and third base this spring. But he hasn’t been producing much with his bat. The 21-year-old is 2-for-21 in eight Grapefruit contests, and the two hits were both singles that came within his first three games.

Hyde believes Henderson -- who is hitless over his past 14 at-bats -- has been “pressing a little bit.”

“I think he’s got a typical young person’s spring, honestly,” Hyde said. “I just want him to relax and play. He’s such a good player that he’s going to be fine. I think he’s just having young guy at-bats right now. He’s trying to get hits. I’m not worried about it at all. I think he’s going to be just fine. He just needs to relax and play a little bit.”

Worth noting
• Continuing to battle for a rotation spot, Tyler Wells allowed five earned runs and struck out four over 2 1/3 innings Tuesday vs the Pirates. Although the 28-year-old right-hander has an 11.57 ERA in three spring outings, he’s encouraged with where his stuff is at.

“To be honest with you, I don’t feel like I’m far off from where I need, or really want to be, to be very dominant,” Wells said. “I think the fastball’s been great. The changeup is still kind of coming along as far as locations go. Curveball has come a long way, slider has come a long way. So I think that everything is there, and I think everything is showing itself. Now, it’s just trying to put the pieces together.”

• Josh Lester, who is competing for a bench spot, went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and an RBI. The 28-year-old owns a six-game hitting streak, during which he’s 11-for-19.