Orioles' Mountcastle strains oblique; Bautista faces live hitters

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle has suffered a torn oblique during his recovery from an earlier left foot fracture and might not return this season, team president Mike Elias said on Friday.

Meanwhile, closer Felix Bautista is nearing a return this season, Elias said.

The 29-year-old Mountcastle has only played in eight games in 2026 for a team that entered Friday at 53-56 and 2 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card spot. He was preparing to play in a rehab game Tuesday when he sustained the injury, Elias said.

“It’s going to be a couple of months,” Elias said of Mountcastle, who has a career slash line of .263/.312/.438 and 98 home runs in 660 career games, all with Baltimore. “We hope to get him back as soon as we’re able to. And hopefully that’s in 2026. But it’s a tough restart for Ryan.”

Bautista, 31, was a 2023 All-Star, missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, then was shut down in July 2025 and underwent a second surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in August 2025.

He has 67 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 156 career relief outings for the Orioles. He is rehabbing at the team's complex in Sarasota, Florida.

“He’s throwing live batting practices this week, meaning he’s facing hitters in Sarasota,” Elias said. “And from all that I’m hearing, he’s looking really good. So fingers crossed and kudos to him. He’s not back yet, but it’s going really, really well.”

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