Closer Félix Bautista had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum, the Orioles announced.

He will miss at least the next 12 months, putting his 2026 season in doubt.

It’s devastating news for Bautista, who missed all of 2024 while working his way back from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and was showing flashes of his old self.

In March, he celebrated as he took the mound in a spring training game for the first time in over a year. Although his velocity took time to return, he was hitting the upper 90s and 100 again during the season. Everything seemed to be going well as he pitched to a 2.60 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with 19 saves.

But in July, as the team returned from the All-Star break, Bautista felt pain in his shoulder. There was too much inflammation during an initial MRI to get a clear diagnosis, but an MRI a few weeks later showed the full damage.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles performed the surgery.

The Orioles will need to find a new closer, either internally or via free agency or the trade market. Tyler Wells, who is expected to return from elbow surgery within the next few weeks, is probably their best internal option, but they are building him up as a starter and there’s no guarantee he will be the same pitcher he was prior to the procedure.

It’s been a devastating injury year for the Orioles, especially on the pitching side. Grayson Rodriguez, expected to lead the rotation, had elbow debridement surgery this month and will not pitch this season. Zach Eflin has had three stints on the injured list and will miss the rest of the season after having a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure. Cade Povich also missed six weeks with left hip inflammation.

In the bullpen, Keegan Akin and Andrew Kittredge (now with the Cubs) missed time this season.

Bautista’s road back will be difficult, but so was his path to getting to the Orioles. He was originally signed by the Marlins as an international free agent in 2012 but was released two years later after contracting chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus that causes fever, joint and muscle pain, fatigue and headaches.

He almost didn’t give baseball a second chance, but his family convinced him to try again. In 2016, he signed with the Orioles and spent the next six years slowly climbing the team’s minor league system.

In 2022, he made his major league debut. A year later, he was one of the best closers in the league, pitching to a 1.48 ERA as he made the All-Star Game and finished 11th in American League Cy Young voting.

The Orioles were counting on him as they barreled their way to the playoffs. But on Aug. 25, 2023, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament, halting years of hard work. The Orioles initially tried nonsurgical methods to heal their best reliever, but by October the decision was made for him to undergo Tommy John surgery.

He spent 2024 making his way back, only for now, five months after he returned to a major league mound, to have to start over again.