We all know that the Philadelphia Phillies are shopping for relief pitchers ahead of the upcoming July 31 MLB trade deadline. What we don't know is who they're looking at specifically. Unfortunately, the price for high-end relief might have just gone up with just a week to go until the deadline.
The Baltimore Orioles placed closer Félix Bautista on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder discomfort, as reported by Roch Kubatko of MASN. It's just the latest in a long season of Orioles injuries that have turned a once promising up-and-coming team into trade deadline sellers this year.
#orioles put closer Félix Bautista on 15-day injured list with right shoulder discomfort. Recall Kade Strowd
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) July 24, 2025
Félix Bautista off trade block, even if he was long shot to be dealt at trade deadline
With the Phillies searching for an arm (or two) to add to the back end of the bullpen, Bautista being off the market only diminishes the supply for the many contending teams also trying to find the same thing. There's no immediate indication that the Orioles were seriously considering moving the 30-year-old right-hander come July 31, but they would have certainly been fielding calls from general managers desperate to make a big splash.
As trade partners at last year's deadline, it wouldn't have been surprising if Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had already placed a call to Baltimore's general manager Mike Elias regarding movable bullpen arms.
"Bautista is earning $1 million this season and is arbitration-eligible for two more years, making him an appealing, controllable trade chip if the Orioles decide to sell more than their expiring contracts," Feinsand recently wrote in an article about possible trade deadline targets who had been improving their value.
The Orioles have placed Felix Bautista on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort. He was a long shot to be traded anyway, but this pretty much ends any chance of that happening.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 24, 2025
It took him a couple of months after coming back from Tommy John surgery, but Bautista had been dominant again on the Camden Yards mound. After posting a 4.30 ERA through May 21, the big righty owns a 1.35 ERA since May 24. He has logged 33 strikeouts in 20 innings over that stretch and is now 19-for-20 in save chances on the season.
As Kubatko reports, Bautista threw a season-high 34 pitches on Sunday after not pitching in a game in 10 days. He struggled to pick up the save, allowing a run and three walks with reduced velocity.
So, whether Bautista was on the trade block or not is now irrelevant. Buyers will be fighting each other even more for available relief arms. The Phillies have notably been reported to have interest in David Bednar and Dennis Santana of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as the Minnesota Twins high-octane duo of Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.
Where they wind up in the next week remains to be seen. They still might wind up making a deal with the O's for a familiar face. We just know for sure it won't be Félix Bautista.