The Orioles have signed right-hander Ryan Helsley to a two-year contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The deal will pay Helsley $28MM in total, as per The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Helsley can opt out of the contract following the 2026 season, and the deal will be finalized once he passes a physical. Helsley is represented by Wasserman.
Felix Bautista underwent shoulder surgery last August that will keep the closer on the injured list until at least August 2026, and that timeline means one setback could sideline Bautista for the entirety of the 2026 campaign. As a result, the Orioles headed into the offseason looking for multiple bullpen additions, including a pitcher with past experience as a closer.
Helsley fits that description, as he racked up 105 saves as the Cardinals’ primary ninth-inning choice from 2022-25. This stretch saw Helsley named to two NL All-Star teams, he was the NL’s Reliever Of The Year in 2024, and he even received some down-ballot Cy Young Award consideration in both 2022 and 2024. Overall, Helsley posted a 2.67 ERA, 29.12% strikeout rate, and 9.93% walk rate over 299 2/3 innings in a St. Louis uniform, from his debut with the team in 2019 until he was traded to the Mets at last July’s trade deadline.
Given the Cardinals’ struggles over the last few seasons and Helsley’s looming free agency, it was seen as a surprise that Helsley wasn’t moved last winter, when his value was at a peak coming off his excellent 2024 campaign. The midseason deal to New York saw the Cards still pick up three prospects, and the deal has to ultimately be considered a win for St. Louis given how things went south for Helsley with the Mets.
Over 20 innings and 22 appearances with the Mets, Helsley was torched for a 7.20 ERA, with his home rate, strikeout rate, and walk rae all going in the wrong direction. The move back into a setup role behind Edwin Diaz simply didn’t agree with Helsley, and his struggles basically summed up a disastrous second half for the Mets that saw the team miss the playoffs.
More to come…
As a starter or closer?
Win-win deal if Orange birds got him as a closer. Two weeks in Flushing does not define him.
It was the beginning of the end.
That’s honestly what they deserved for pitching him 22 times in two weeks.
Has to be as a closer. The SP stuff never made sense and the O’s specifically wanted the closer with experience in the 9th. Fair question with the recent reporting but can’t imagine that’s what the O’s are doing here.
So what happens to Felix Bautista? Is he now a setup man?
Injured for most of next year.
Yeah a great question. I would continue to use him as a closer truthfully.
Does it matter? Their still 3 starters, 2-3 bullpen arms and a couple everyday position players away from being as good as the 3rd place team in the east
I had to going to the Orioles for 2/29. I guess I’ll count it.
He’ll be happy to get out of New York, anyway.
New York is happy to see him leave! He was an arsonist for the Mets.
Helsley was fine for 2021-2025…until he went to the Mets. Some guys just can’t handle the Big Apple, and I’m not talking about the one behind the center field fence.
Actually, he wasn’t fine for 2021. But 2022-2025 was more than decent…until he went to New York.
They get their new Closer I think
Passan says he’ll be closing. Makes sense. The noise about converting him to a starter always seemed phony. At least the Orioles are trying to do something about their pitching. They still need rotation help, though.
..wasn’t on my bingo card
Who would’ve thought the o’s would spend and outbid the dodgers
Interesting, I guess they were serious about bringing in another dude with 9th inning experience.
And another L for me. 2/8 now. I had him going to the Braves.
I had him going to the giants…
Good move …if his Mets’ experience isn’t the new norm. I had him going to the Cubs.
mlbtraderumors.com/mlb-free-agent-prediction-conte…
Maybe he just needs a bird on his jersey to play well?
Here we go, keep the moves coming.
Lfg. Another opt out deal but whatever. Keep it moving Elias.
If thats what 14M AAV gets on this market, I hope the Mariners stay away from notable free agent relievers.
Early deals are higher in value to the player, because there is extra value to the team in getting some of their shopping done early, so they can devote resources to the harder transactions.
Keep in mind helsey is one of the best closers in the game when he is in his prime
$14M seems like a high AAV for a guy who had such a brutal end to the year. I thought he’d be in the single digits on a “prove-it” deal honestly.
Look at his 2022-2024 stretch of dominance and solid first half of 2025. There was no way he was only going to get one year and less than $10 million just because of a bad 2 months after a deadline trade.
Had him going to the Tigers..
For St. Louis he was an Elite closer in ’24 then a Great Closer in ’25.
Crappy Set Up Man for the NYM for 2 months.
Honestly even for St. Louis in 2025, he was much more hittable than he usually was in the years prior. He was making most saves very interesting for a while leading up to the deadline. A lot of baserunners. Might have been tipping pitches though.
LOL Orioles! You’ll regret this one.
He was near the top of my list of free agent closer candidates to replace Bautista next year, so no complaints here. Still averages 99+ mph on the heater and the opt out gives him some extra motivation. Good bounceback candidate.
Another to-do list item checked off very quickly. Good job Mike.
I’m sure Mets fans are glad he’s gone. That’s a lot of money for him. I wonder what Weaver will get
He was a total monster from 2022-2024 and his fastball velo is still super elite, so I don’t think it’s a crazy gamble.
This money looks like starter money it’s similar to the Clay Holmes deal
This “opt out” crap is too much.
Wonder what happens to Bautista now. Doesn’t help Bautista that he’s missed 2024 and will miss most of 2026 due to injury.
Not a big deal. Make him a set up guy. Problem solved
Wow, I like this deal for the O’s
Baltimore siempre haciendo malas firmas.
@Raul, I think this is a low risk high reward deal. $14MM/ is relatively cheap for a high leverage reliever now. If he gets close to his previous levels of success, this is an absolute steal.
Like the deal. Need another set up man or 2 and the bullpen will be done.
Yikes. He was absolutely brutal with the Mets… talk about failing upward… 🤦♂️