Enters the game to the whistling of "The Farmer in the Dell" from Omar Little on The Wire played by Michael K. Williams...Referred to as "The Mountain," a nickname given to him by his friends back home...His go-to restaurant is Chipotle...Likes to play video games, including Clash of Clans and racing games...Likes Latin music – including reggaeton, dembow, salsa, bachata and merengue – and used to play the bongos or congas at church...Made his Major League debut on April 10, which is his mom's (Polonia Bautista) birthday...Has a son, Xander Miguel...Close friends with Orioles teammate Yennier Cano and bullpen catcher Joel "Yogi" Polanco...Underwent successful right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John) on Oct. 9, 2023...The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas...On Sept. 30, 2023, Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias announced that the Orioles reached agreement with Bautista on guaranteed contracts for the 2024 and 2025 seasons...Participated in the 2023 Birdland Caravan.
2023
Went 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA (10 ER/61.0 IP) and 33 saves in 56 appearances with the O’s...Unanimously named the winner of the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year award joining Zack Britton (2016) as the only O's relievers to earn the honor. Named to the All-MLB First Team...Selected to his first career All-Star Game. Joined Yennier Cano as the first pair of O’s relievers selected to an All-Star Game since 2016 (Brach and Britton)...Voted AL Reliever of the Month for April, June and July his first career monthly awards and the first O’s reliever to win the award on multiple occasions. Jim Johnson was the only other Oriole to receive the award (May 2012)...Led MLB relievers with 110 strikeouts, the third-most by an O’s reliever in team history (since 1954)...Struck out multiple batters in 38 of his 56 outings, the most multi-strikeout games in MLB in 2023...Finished the year tied for the lead among MLB relievers with 2.8 fWAR (MIA’s Scott) and tied for fourth with 3.0 bWAR...His 33 saves ranked third in the AL and tied for eighth in MLB...Appeared on his second career Opening Day roster (2022)...Recorded the fastest strikeout pitch by an Orioles pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) on 6/28 vs. CIN striking out Spencer Steer at 103.3 mph...Reached 30 saves in his 92nd career game on 8/6 vs. NYM becoming the third-fastest O’s reliever to reach the mark in team history (since 1954), trailing only Chris Ray (90 G) and Gregg Olson (77 G)...Placed on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL injury on 8/26...On 9/30, Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias announced that Bautista would undergo right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John). The surgery was performed on 10/9 by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas...Elias announced that the Orioles reached agreement with Bautista on guaranteed contracts for the 2024 and 2025 season.
2022
Made his first career Opening Day roster; made his Major League debut in Baltimore's third game on 4/10 at TB (1.1 IP, H, 2 K)...Led MLB rookie relievers in saves (15) and WHIP (0.93), ranked third in strikeouts (88) and games (65), fourth in K/9 (12.06), fifth in ERA (2.19), eighth in innings pitched (65.2), and tied for eighth in holds (13)...Ranked fifth among rookie pitchers with 2.6 bWAR, per Baseball Reference; tied for seventh among rookie relievers with 1.4 fWAR, per FanGraphs...Became the fifth rookie in club history (since 1954) to record at least 15 saves in a single season and the first since Alfredo Simón in 2010 (17 SV)...Converted 12 straight save opportunities in a 19-game stretch from 7/31-9/22...Did not allow an earned run in a team-high 20 straight games from 5/18-7/4...Named to Baseball America's Major League All-Rookie Team...Placed on the 15-day Injured List with left knee discomfort on 10/3, retroactive to 10/1, ending his season...Attended his first Major League Spring Training, going 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA (2 ER/3.2 IP) in four Grapefruit League games.
2021
Appeared at three different minor league levels, beginning the season with High-A Aberdeen and finishing with Triple-A Norfolk...Went a combined 1-6 with a 1.54 ERA (8 ER/46.2 IP) and 77 strikeouts across 40 appearances, all in relief...Posted a combined 1.07 WHIP with a .126 opponents batting average between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A...Recorded 11 saves in 14 opportunities combined between each affiliate...Allowed one hit in seven appearances (8.1 IP) during the month of July for Double-A Bowie...Named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star...Added to the 40-man roster on 11/19.
