If there is a reason for optimism after Ryan Helsley’s disastrous two-month tenure with the New York Mets, it’s that the two-time All-Star closer knows what went wrong and is confident he has fixed the issue.
Based on the early action in his market, the industry feels the same.
Despite Helsley’s late-season struggles last year — a period he referred to as the worst of his career — roughly 15 teams have expressed interest in the 31-year-old right-hander, league sources said. That includes the Detroit Tigers, who view Helsley as a potential starting pitcher. Several teams have discussed multiyear deals, either in a set-up role or as a traditional closer.
“There is a lot of talent this year in free agency, and it’s exciting in itself to be in this position,” Helsley said to The Athletic during a phone interview Monday. “You work for seven years to get to this point and have a chance to experience it, so I’m very thankful and grateful for that. Hopefully, teams see there was an issue but my stuff is still there.”
Helsley is one of the top available closers in this year’s free-agent class and ranks No. 27 on The Athletic’s free-agent big board. He, along with Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams, Robert Suarez, Kenley Jansen and Pete Fairbanks, rounds out a robust high-end reliever market, one that could move quickly. Traditionally, relievers are one of the last groups to sign in free agency. That could change this winter, based on the surplus of impactful late-inning arms and the lack of true star power at other positions.
That Helsley draws such heavy interest could come across as surprising, given how poorly his season ended. Acquired at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, Helsley faltered for the Mets, carding a 7.20 ERA over 22 appearances. But according to people familiar with Helsley’s market, teams aren’t as concerned about a bad eight-week stretch. Instead, evaluators point toward Helsley’s metrics — which still show plus-stuff, significant swing-and-miss and one of the top fastball velocities in the league — and two fixable factors that explain his drop-off.
Ryan Helsley was at the peak of his powers with the Cardinals, with an MLB-best 49 saves in 2024. Can he regain that form? (Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
Helsley led the majors with 49 saves in 2024, setting a franchise record for the Cardinals. He was slightly less dominant for St. Louis last season but still converted 21 of 29 saves with a 10.3 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate before being dealt at the trade deadline. The Mets traded for Helsley in an attempt to build a “super bullpen” and intended to pair him ahead of closer Edwin Díaz.
An implosion followed. Opposing hitters pounded his fastball in August, hitting .471 and slugging a clean 1.000. It was a stark contrast to his slider, which hitters averaged just .217 against. But it was much easier for hitters to lay off the slider, knowing Helsley was struggling with his four-seamer.
Eventually, the Mets moved Helsley out of the set-up role and then removed him from high-leverage situations entirely.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve gone through as a pitcher in the big leagues,” Helsley said to The Athletic.
But even during that stretch, Helsley’s underlying numbers indicated the issues were not related to stuff. His fastball velocity still averaged 99 mph, and opposing hitters were hitting it at a much harder rate. It did not take long for the Mets to figure out the issue. Helsley was tipping his pitches — something he struggled with intermittently in St. Louis — and becoming too predictable in counts.
“It was pretty obvious,” Helsley said. “I’m not the greatest at (spotting pitch tipping), and even I could see it (on film with) the majority of the pitches.”
Helsley’s tell came from his hand position as he was becoming set. Throughout his career, Helsley would come set with his hands high. The Mets suggested changing his positioning and keeping his hands closer to his chest. But making an in-season adjustment — especially in the big leagues — does not always come easy, especially when the results aren’t following.
“You’re in the game, and the game speeds up, you’re in the moment, and you’re not thinking about your arm,” Helsley said. “You naturally go back to what feels right, but obviously, you’re giving stuff away.”
That dynamic, combined with his predictability in certain counts, made for an ordeal. Opposing hitters teed off on the first pitch of an at-bat or in hitter-friendly counts — most notably 1-0 or 2-1 — when Helsley was most likely to throw a fastball. Batters hit an alarming .462 with a 1.098 OPS on the first pitch, with those numbers skyrocketing to .579 and 1.866 in 1-0 counts. In 2-0 counts, hitters posted a .286 average and a 1.000 OPS.
When counts favored Helsley, numbers show he was far less predictable and put batters away at his usual rate. In 0-2 counts, hitters averaged .083 and struck out 50 percent of the time. In 1-2 counts, batters registered a .217 average and struck out at nearly the same rate.
“I felt great, and the Mets’ models showed I was actually having the best stuff of my career, so it didn’t make sense for me to struggle as bad as I did,” Helsley said. “But I was being really predictable in certain counts. It was almost a double-confirmation for hitters. They see it with their eyes, and they also had a stat behind it saying I’m more likely to throw this pitch in a certain count. It just gave them that much more comfort in the box, and more conviction.”
Helsley is contemplating adding another pitch to his arsenal, possibly a two-seamer or a changeup, to help prevent that predictability next year. He currently has four pitches, though he rarely uses his curveball and cutter. In 2025, Helsley essentially utilized a two-pitch mix. He threw his slider 47 percent of the time, with his four-seamer next at 45 percent. He turned to his curveball just 6 percent of the time and threw his cutter only 13 times (1.3 percent).
Expanding his arsenal is something Helsley will need to do if he signs with a team that views him as a starter. Though other teams have inquired about the transition, the Tigers are the most serious suitors at this time. Helsley came up through the Cardinals’ system as a starting pitching prospect, and he did not throw in relief until debuting in the majors. However, Helsley has been a reliever for his entire MLB career. He is not opposed to starting but is more comfortable in a closer’s role.
“I know what I’m capable of as a reliever,” Helsley said. “I think I still have a lot to give and can get even better. I’ve shown what I can do as a closer when I’m in that role. It’s a really fun time to be in the game. It’s the most important three outs of the game, but I still think I’m capable and able to be a starter.”
“I missed starting probably the first half of my career, but once I really started closing, I didn’t think about it as much,” he added. “Learning a new pitch would be something I could pick up, obviously, but it’d be a learning curve throughout this first year to figure out how to be a major-league starting pitcher.”
Multiple league sources said they expect the reliever market to pick up around the start of MLB’s Winter Meetings, which begin Dec. 8 in Orlando, Fla. Until then, Helsley remains open-minded to the free-agent process and is eager to prove he’s capable of returning to his All-Star form.
“People might not believe me, but I really enjoyed my time in New York,” Helsley said. “I still believe I can be who I want to be, and I’ve shown who I am as a pitcher. And I think there’s room for improvement, ways to get better and get even more out of myself.”
