Orioles Get Encouraging Injury Update on Key Bullpen Arm

The Baltimore Orioles shocked many in the baseball world in 2022 with a surprisingly resurgent season. Expected to finish dead last by a wide margin in the AL East, the Orioles improved their record by a whopping 31 games and were in the playoff hunt for much of the season.

Felix Bautista Injury Update

Baltimore is looking to take another step forward this year and continue to grow with its exciting young talent. On Saturday, the Orioles got some great news on one of their key relief pitchers.

Felix Bautista, who is recovering from knee and shoulder injuries, had a positive day throwing a bullpen session on Friday. As he continues to work his way back up, he believes he will be fully healthy and ready to go for Opening Day.

Felix Bautista said he threw his bullpen at 70 percent yesterday. He is building up gradually. Still thinks he will be ready by Opening Day. Said he’ll need four or five innings/appearances to be ready. Confident that will happen. Dealing with no discomfort.
— Dan Connolly (@danconnolly2016) February 18, 2023

Bautista believes even limited work of just four or five innings during Spring Training will get him to the point of being ready to go. The indication that he's feeling no discomfort yet is a positive sign as well.

Bautista was phenomenal for the Orioles in 2022, finishing his rookie season with a 2.19 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 88 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings. He also emerged as the team's closer, picking up 15 saves.

It shouldn't be an issue for Baltimore to get the 27-year-old righty to that level of work, especially if he knows going into Spring Training that's what he needs.

The Orioles are currently +2500 to win the AL East, which is last in the division, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's latest MLB odds. However, Baltimore proved those odds didn't matter last season, so expect the team to have the same mentality in 2023, especially if Bautista is as effective as last year.

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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