Navigating the bullpen without Bautista

CLEVELAND – It hasn’t been the best season for Orioles relievers. 

Entering the final game of their four-game set in Cleveland, the O’s bullpen had the third-worst ERA in the American League at 4.80. This series hadn’t improved those numbers, with the ‘pen allowing 10 earned runs in the last three games. 

Last night, though, the relief corps just allowed one. It was an RBI single off the bat of Steven Kwan in the eighth inning of a tie game. That’s not a spot where you’d normally expect to see Colin Selby, but he’s the Baltimore arm who surrendered the run that ultimately decided the game. It wasn’t the plan to pitch him in that spot. 

Instead, interim manager Tony Mansolino had slated Seranthony Domínguez for that frame and Félix Bautista for the ninth. 

But in the seventh inning, the bullpen relayed a message back to Mansolino that Bautista would not be available. The closer was in the process of getting ready to loosen up for potential game action, and something flared up. That changed the interim manager’s plans and, perhaps, the outcome of the game. 

“Seventh inning, our phone rang, and right when I heard that thing ring, I told whoever was next to me, I said ‘That is not good,’” Mansolino recalled. “I didn’t know what it was or who it was, but when it came our way that wasn’t good. I heard it get slammed after off and I knew it wasn’t going to be good. And it turned out to be really horrendous.” 

As it turned out, Bautista found himself on the 15-day injured list with “right shoulder discomfort.” He’s scheduled to get an MRI tomorrow, and he’ll meet with team doctors to get a better idea about the severity of the injury. 

“Félix is a guy that is really one of the leaders,” Mansolino said. “He’s a catalyst for us. He’s a guy that shortens the game. He helps you win major league games every night. We just hope that it’s not too severe.”

The injury is something new. Bautista went through his pregame warmups as normal yesterday with no sign of injury. And there’s at least some solace to be found in the fact that it’s not an elbow injury. 

“We feel great about his usage over the course of the year,” Mansolino noted. “It’s something that’s new, and it’s hard to explain some of these things as it has been hard to explain a lot of the injuries for a lot of other guys this year.”

The Orioles' 40-man roster now includes a whopping 15 players on the injured list, including big names like Bautista, Adley Rutschman and Kyle Bradish. 

Without Bautista, there isn’t a clear, dedicated closer. 

Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto could be temporary options, but who knows what their future holds with the trade deadline a week away? For now, the chess match just got more difficult for Mansolino. 

“I don’t think that you have a specific closer, so to speak,” he said. “I think you’re probably going to try to get your best matchups throughout the game.” 

It will, inevitably, force some relivers who are used to lower-leverage moments to step up. 

“I think guys are going to kind of have to bump up, as we saw with Selby last night,” Mansolino said. “They’re going to have to kind of bump up their roles and step up, so to speak, and pitch in different spots. As currently constructed, we’ll make use of what we have.” 

That’s a mentality that the Orioles have had to apply all year as one of the most injured teams in the game. 

A tough stretch before the deadline just got a lot tougher. 

Breadcrumbs from the skipper

Tyler O’Neill is back in the lineup today after missing the last two games with what Mansolino described as “general soreness.” 

“Sounds like he’s feeling better and excited to get him out there,” Mansolino said.  

Keegan Akin, another important piece of the ‘pen puzzle, could be on his way back to the bigs shortly. 

“I think Saturday he’ll make another rehab appearance, and then my guess is he’d be an option after that,” Mansolino noted.