SARASOTA, Fla. – With his fourth bullpen session completed, the intensity level on a gradual increase, Orioles closer Félix Bautista is gaining confidence that he’ll break camp with the team and be ready to pitch on Opening Day in Boston.
Bautista didn’t begin throwing until last month. The Orioles placed him on a rehab program for his left knee and worked to strengthen a right shoulder that became fatigued in September.
The delays in getting back on a mound put into question whether Bautista would be included in their eight-man bullpen.
“Thank God I feel really good,” he said this morning via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I don’t feel like I have any setbacks, I don’t feel any discomfort or pain in my shoulder or knee, so as right now I hope that I’ll be ready for opening day. I really do.”
Dillon Tate might miss the first month with a strained right flexor/forearm strain, and losing Bautista would strike another potentially damaging blow. Bautista threw again yesterday and headed back indoors, optimistic about his progress and the outlook for his spring training.