BALTIMORE -- There are a lot of questions currently surrounding the Orioles’ roster -- mostly because it’s not known who will be added (or subtracted) between now and the beginning of Spring Training. But here’s one that is unlikely to be impacted by future moves:
Who will be Baltimore’s closer in 2027?
That isn’t a question that’s had to be asked going into a season in a while. Since August 2022, right-hander Félix Bautista has been the O’s closer, when healthy. Prior to the ‘24 campaign, Craig Kimbrel was signed as a one-year fill-in for Bautista, who missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Then, Ryan Helsley was signed last offseason to take over the job, knowing Bautista would miss most of ‘26 while recovering from right shoulder surgery.
Helsley signed a two-year, $28 million contract and decided not to utilize his opt-out clause after an injury-plagued year. Bautista will also be back, as he returned to make two relief appearances in late September.
So, again: Who’s the closer?
“It’s great having two power arms like that. They’re both going into the season with some uncertainty, for different reasons,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “We’re excited to have both of those guys. But neither of them are somebody that you want to totally bank on locking down the ninth inning for us, even though they both have tremendous amounts of experience.
“I’m pretty sure, between the two of them, we’ll get some good outcomes there. But we’ve also got to guard against the fact that they had injured 2026 seasons.”
Could Bautista and Helsley be co-closers? Will there be a committee? Is there a plan yet?
“We haven’t talked too much,” Elias said. “I think we have to wait and see what moves will be made on the pitching staff and who we have, and then talk to [manager Craig Albernaz] and the players and figure out how we want to approach the closer’s role.
“But if Helsley’s healthy, I think it starts with him, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
It would make sense for Helsley to be the early front-runner, even though the 32-year-old flamethrower’s first year in Baltimore was marred by two lengthy stints on the injured list due to right elbow ailments. He had a 4.11 ERA and eight saves over only 17 appearances.
But Helsley had mostly stayed healthy in recent years, pitching in more than 50 games in four of the previous five seasons. He was one of the best high-leverage relievers in baseball from 2022-24 while pitching for the Cardinals, a span that included his MLB-leading 49-save campaign in ‘24.
Similarly, Bautista was also among the best relievers in MLB earlier this decade, recording a 1.85 ERA and 48 saves in 121 games between his 2022 rookie season and ‘23 sophomore campaign. However, the 31-year-old has made only 37 appearances for the O’s since first getting hurt in August 2023, 35 of those coming in ‘25, before his shoulder injury.
The Orioles are expected to be active in the market for relief pitching this offseason, though it isn’t their top need. They have some quality arms set to return -- such as Yennier Cano, Rico Garcia and others -- but they could use another high-leverage reliever, particularly a lefty.
Still, it would be surprising if somebody other than Helsley or Bautista is given save opportunities early in the 2027 season. There may be some uncertainty there, as Elias said, but those are guys who have excelled at pitching in the highest-leverage situations in the past.
Whether it’s Helsley, Bautista or a combination of both, Baltimore should feel good about its ninth-inning outlook, as long as those hard-throwing righties can return to form (or close to it).