Orioles’ Midday Mailbag: When will Félix Bautista return?

Every weekday, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: Why is Félix Bautista taking so long to recover from Tommy John surgery? From: Jerry Gehrig

Answer: Jerry, normally it takes pitchers anywhere from 12 to 18 months to recover from Tommy John surgery. Bautista had his surgery in October 2023, and a follow-up procedure in February. At the time of his procedure, Bautista was declared out for the 2024 season. It took John Means nearly 17 months to return to the major leagues after his April 2022 Tommy John surgery, though he also had a back injury that set him back a few months. The Orioles expect Bautista to be ready for the 2025 season.

Question: Statcast is used for everything now during the game. Is there a website where we can see stuff?  From: Rob Jefferson 

Answer: Rob, in order to see Statcast’s readings, go to Baseball Savant, which is run by mlb.com — https://baseballsavant.mlb.com. You can see exit velocity, pitch velocity, distances balls were hit and other stats.