One of the most interesting pitchers in the free-agent market this winter was Ryan Helsley. Helsley was one of baseball’s best stoppers for several years. However, after a rough two months with the Mets, he did not enter the winter on a high note. Still, he didn’t stay available for long, as the Orioles have reportedly agreed to add him on a two-year deal.
A Look at Helsley
Ryan Helsley entered the 2025 season as one of the best potential free-agent relievers. In fact, one could argue he was the best.
Helsley had a dominant 2024 campaign with the Cardinals, as he notched 49 saves for a St. Louis team that didn’t score a lot of runs. He struck out 79 over 66 innings and wound up winning the NL Reliever of the Year award.
The 31-year-old did fine in 2025 with the Cards. He picked up 21 saves, continued to stymie hitters, and was in his element in Missouri. That changed in July when the Mets acquired Helsley in a massive deal that saw two big prospects, Nate Dohm and Jesus Baez, along with another pitching prospect, go to St. Louis for the veteran reliever.
That move saw Helsley not only leave the lone organization he knew but also put him in an unfamiliar spot — or at least he hadn’t been in years: be a setup man. Helsley was acquired to be a bridge for Edwin Diaz, as well as a potential closer on days that Diaz wasn’t available.
However, that’s not how things worked out. Helsley walked seven and gave up two home runs in his first 13 games as a Met between August 1 and September 1, resulting in a 9.58 ERA.
There were pitch-tipping concerns with Helsley. Helsley’s fastball was getting hit with regularity, as the righty had an opponent’s batting average of .471 and a wOBA of .631 off that pitch. What resulted was a change of fortune for Helsley, as well as a literal changeup on him.
To get hitters off the fastball, Helsley began to use his slider significantly more in September, as well as his fastball at a season-low 36.8% in the final month. It didn’t change the Mets’ fortunes. However, things were better in the final few weeks as he started pitching in low-leverage spots.
The 31-year-old was one of baseball’s best closers for the past two and a half years for a few reasons.
One, that blistering fastball, coupled with a hard slider. Helsley’s fastball is a hard one, a pitch that can touch triple digits with life and cutting action. The slider is a gyro one that was able to get strikes both in and out of the zone.
The result is a lot of swings and misses, as well as chases. He’s a power pitcher who has primarily stuck with those two pitches as a reliever. However, Helsley has used a curveball as a change-of-pace offering in past seasons, as well as a cutter. Before 2023, Helsley also sparingly used a sinker and changeup.
Per multiple reports, the Orioles are signing Ryan Helsley to a two-year deal worth $28MM.
Analysis
There was some talk early in the offseason about teams potentially being interested in Helsley as a starter. That conversation made some sense, for a few reasons.
One, starting pitching is hard to come by — and expensive. Helsley does have legitimate swing-and-miss stuff when in tune, and if that could translate to a starting pitcher role, it could make things much easier when it comes to filling out a rotation with a cheaper alternative.
Some relievers, like Jordan Hicks and Clay Holmes, have made that jump over the year with mixed results. The one big downside, though, is velocity. Generally speaking, relievers who can gas out at 97-99 MPH in a relief role can’t maintain that over four or five innings.
Two, Helsley has the kind of arsenal that teams would covet. That “cutty” four-seamer may have been of interest for teams believing that he could add more pitches, particularly those who focus on pronator/supinator bias. And, Helsley has experience working with three pitches, as well as a cutter, changeup, and sinker in small dosages.
However, for the Orioles, Baltimore needs relievers. The O’s traded away much of their bullpen in the summer, and most of those were expiring contracts like Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto.
Baltimore re-acquired reliever Andrew Kittredge earlier this month. However, Helsley is more of an established closer. And with Felix Bautista out for all of 2026, perhaps a return to his old role will do him some good.
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