SARASOTA, Fla. — The result might not have counted toward the standings, but the emotions Félix Bautista felt taking an MLB mound in a game for the first time in 496 days were very real.

Bautista, 29, made his first Grapefruit League appearance of the spring Monday, firing a scoreless frame in the Orioles’ 6-6 tie against the Boston Red Sox for his first official outing since tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow in August 2023. He threw 13 pitches and sat around 96 to 97 mph with his sinker.

“It’s something I thought about every day and it’s something that kept me going throughout my rehab process, throughout my recovery,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones of dreaming about his first game back. “Having that thought in my mind kept me going.”

The last time the Orioles’ closer was on a mound, he was in the midst of a Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award-winning season. The right-hander recorded 33 saves with a 1.48 ERA in 56 appearances in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. His breakout campaign helped Baltimore reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but the club has yet to win a playoff game in two trips to the postseason without him.

They’re hopeful that will be different this year with Bautista expecting to be back to 100% by opening day.

“God willing, when opening day comes around, I’ll be 99 to 100 mph if everything continues to go right,” Bautista said of building up his velocity.

To keep him healthy, manager Brandon Hyde is planning to use Bautista cautiously and lean on other relievers such as Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto in certain save situations.

“I’m going to be as careful as I possibly can,” Hyde said. “I don’t see him going back-to-back days. I don’t see him going [more than one inning]. I’m going to have to be careful about getting him up and sitting him down.”

The goal for Monday’s outing wasn’t for Bautista to light up the radar gun — he did that anyway — or dominate opposing hitters — he did that too. The Orioles (4-4-1) just wanted to see him get through the outing healthy and happy with how his pitches came out of his hand.

So far, so good.

“It was very exciting,” Bautista said. “I missed my fans. I missed hearing them every time I stepped onto the field, so it was very gratifying being able to go out there today and hear them once again.”

Morton, Sugano building rapport with Rutschman

Offseason additions Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano have worked with countless catchers throughout their respective careers, which combine to span 29 seasons between Morton’s MLB tenure and Sugano’s years in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

They each made their second appearance of the spring on Monday and worked with Orioles backstop Adley Rutschman behind the plate. After three weeks of getting to know the club’s cornerstone player, Morton and Sugano walked away from the contest with strong impressions of Rutschman’s defense and communication.

“He’s obviously a good hitter, as well as he is a good catcher,” Sugano said through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “Good hitters, I think, as a catcher, he can kind of read the mood and how the hitters are reacting to each pitch. So, that was good to know on my end and there’s a way to work on it moving forward. So, that was a good takeaway today.”

Sugano and Morton both tossed two scoreless frames Monday. The Japanese right-hander’s location wasn’t as sharp as his first outing but he worked out of a couple of jams and recorded two strikeouts. Morton cruised through his pair of innings with only one base runner allowed.

Rutschman, who homered off Red Sox right-hander Hunter Dobbins in the first, worked with Sugano ahead of camp over video to start building a relationship early. Morton, meanwhile, has already started to see similarities between him and some of the better catchers he’s worked with over the years such as Carlos Ruiz, Brian McCann and Sean Murphy.

Even Hyde has been impressed from a distance.

“I think that all starts in the clubhouse and starts in the bullpen, and the communication that our pitching and catching guys have, but also just the relationship,” Hyde said. “He’s doing a great job of putting himself out there, really trying to get to know these guys and what they like, what they don’t like.”

Around the horn

Hyde announced Monday that Orioles infielders Gunnar Henderson (side) and Jordan Westburg (back) were ramping up their activities as they rehabilitate from their respective injuries. Henderson took the weekend off to rest but worked out with trainers Monday while Westburg was a full participant in on-field drills. Westburg could return to the lineup Wednesday or Thursday with Henderson a bit behind him.

Reliever Andrew Kittredge didn’t pitch as originally scheduled Saturday after experiencing knee soreness while warming up in the bullpen. Hyde said he was “improving” Monday and continuing to get treatment.

Right-hander Chayce McDermott (lat/teres strain) played catch Monday for the first time since being shut down from throwing the first week of camp. The Orioles’ consensus top pitching prospect is expected to open the season in Triple-A Norfolk.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/ByMattWeyrichand instagram.com/bymattweyrich.