Félix Bautista (baseball)
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Félix Alexander Bautista (born June 20, 1995) is a Dominican professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). He was signed by the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
as an international free agent in 2012. He made his MLB debut in 2022. Nicknamed "The Mountain", Bautista is one of the tallest and heaviest players in MLB, listed at and .


Career


Miami Marlins

Bautista signed with the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
as an international free agent on November 19, 2012. Bautista made his professional debut for the
Dominican Summer League Marlins The Dominican Summer Marlins are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica North division and is affiliated with the Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball t ...
in 2013, logging a 2.73
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) with 17
strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
s in 11 appearances. In the summer of 2014 he contracted
Chikungunya Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...
, a mosquito-borne virus, which kept him out of play for three weeks and left him weakened. On his return from the illness, Bautista pitched to a 12.41 ERA with seven strikeouts in
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
across eight games. He was released by the Marlins organization on January 15, 2015.


Baltimore Orioles

After not playing professionally in 2015, on August 4, 2016, Bautista signed a minor league contract with the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
organization. He was assigned to the Dominican Summer League Orioles, where he made 5 appearances to finish the year. Bautista returned to the DSL Orioles in 2017, posting a 4–3 record and 2.01 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 15 appearances (14 of them starts). He spent the 2018 season with the
Gulf Coast League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home g ...
, pitching to a 4.33 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 27.0 innings of work across 12 appearances. Bautista split the 2019 season between the Low-A
Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...
and the Single-A
Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...
, accumulating a 3.44 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 26 total appearances between the two affiliates. Bautista did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He spent the 2021 season with three different Orioles affiliates: High-A Aberdeen, the Double-A
Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...
, and the Triple-A
Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...
. In 40 appearances between the three levels, Bautista posted a stellar 1.54 ERA with 77 strikeouts in innings pitched. The Orioles added him to their 40-man roster following the 2021 season on November 19, 2021. Bautista made the Opening Day roster for the Orioles out of Spring Training in 2022. He made his major league debut on April 10, 2022, pitching in relief of Tyler Wells. In the game, he recorded his first major league strikeout against
Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
shortstop Wander Franco. On May 10, Bautista earned his first career save, closing out a 5–3 victory over the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
. When the Orioles traded Jorge López, Bautista succeeded him as the Orioles' closer. Bautista was named the AL Reliever of the Month for April 2023 after going 7-for-7 in save chances, striking out 25 batters in 13.2 innings pitched, and posting a 46.4% whiff rate. On May 20, Bautista pitched the ninth and tenth innings of an extra-inning victory against the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
, recording a career-high five strikeouts in the appearance. On August 26, Bautista was placed on the injured list following a UCL injury that he suffered while pitching against the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
the previous day. On September 30, it was announced Bautista would undergo
Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
, which would force him to miss the entire 2024 season. In addition, on February 9, 2024, Bautista underwent a debridement and an ulnar nerve transposition in the same elbow that had Tommy John months before. On March 29, 2025, Bautista made his return to the mound for the first time since August 25, 2023, striking out three while allowing one walk and one hit in the Orioles' 9-5 win over the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
. On April 12, 2025, Bautista got his first save of the season and his first save since August 24, 2023, to give the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.


See also

* List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bautista, Felix 1995 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Santo Domingo Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Marlins players Dominican Summer League Orioles players Gulf Coast Orioles players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Norfolk Tides players