The Orioles first placed Félix Bautista on the 40-man roster in November 2021. Baltimore added Bautista, DL Hall, Kyle Bradish, Terrin Vavra, Kevin Smith and Logan Gillaspie in an effort to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Hall and Bradish were thought to be the prizes of the bunch with Vavra and Smith slotting below them. Gillaspie and Bautista were a pair of former minor-league free agents that held upside as relievers.
We all know what happened next. Bautista stole the show.
Bautista paired his triple-digit fastball with a devastating splitter to emerge as the most dominant force in Baltimore’s bullpen.