The Baltimore Orioles front office has been very adamant about adding arms this free agency. They have since done that with their first big purchase of the offseason: former Cardinals and Mets closer Ryan Helsley.
Since coming into the league in 2019, Helsley has been one of the premier relievers in all of baseball. The first few years of his big-league career were very rocky, but Helsley turned it on quickly in 2022. In that season, Helsley had an ERA of 1.25 with 19 saves in 54 games for the St. Louis Cardinals. His efforts earned him All-MLB second team honors for the first time in his career.
Piggybacking off of ’22, Helsley had the best year of his career in 2024. Helsley won MLB Reliever of the Month in April, June and September. Helsley capped off his amazing 2024 campaign by winning the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliver of the Year Award.
Helsley had a solid career for the St. Louis Cardinals before being shipped to the New York Mets at the 2025 trade deadline. He struggled in Queens, pitching to a 7.20 ERA with zero saves in 22 games for the Mets. ’25 was the first year he really struggled since his opening seasons in the bigs, so there is little to no worry for Orioles front office.
Aside from starting pitching, Helsley is exactly what the O’s need. The team struggled at the closer position in ’25 with Felix Bautista being inconsistent most of the season before suffering another arm injury late in the year. There is no clear timetable for his return, but O’s fans shouldn’t get their hopes up any time soon. Helsley can perfectly fill the massive void that Bautista left in the backend of this O’s pen.
The contract is also beneficial to both parties, as it is a two-year deal with a player opt-out after year one. Helsley will look to improve an O’s bullpen that was shaky-at-best in 2025. Helsley also looks to help catapult the team back into the playoffs after they missed them for the first time since 2022.
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