FILE – New York Mets pitcher Ryan Helsley throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sept. 10, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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In July, the Mets and Yankees lost their grips on division leads for various reasons and it was the time when trade activity picked up.
The teams combined to acquire 11 new players while sending out a combined 23 players. The teams also identified bullpen arms as an immediate need, resulting in the Mets acquiring Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley and the Yankees obtaining Jake Bird, Camilo Doval, and David Bednar.
While Rogers, Doval and Bednar are not free agents, the Mets were essentially renting Helsley for two months and the lease did not go well when he was 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in 22 appearances. His run of ineffectiveness culminated in a span of four outings from Aug. 9-15 when he allowed seven runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings during four losses for the Mets as the Phillies gained steam and took control of the division.
Four bad outings hardly define a career, but they seemingly did for his time with the Mets, which ended Saturday when the Orioles agreed to a $28 million, two-year deal with him. The deal contains an opt-out and Helsley likely uses it if he can regain some earlier form like in 2024 when he saved 49 games and had a 2.04 ERA in 65 appearances, a run that saw him strike out 79 in 66 1/3 innings.
Late in the season it was revealed Helsley was tipping pitches and he seemingly fixed it, unlike Luke Weaver, whose pitch tipping was revealed late in the season and not cured in time for him to avoid stumbling in the playoffs.
Indications seem to be the fastball was slipping. It was not the average of 99.3 mph, but hitters seemed to know when it was being thrown.
In 2025, hitters were .422 (43-for-102) against the pitch which was thrown 445 times. Last year, he threw the pitch 22 fewer times and hitters were able to bat .276 against it.
So, it seems to be location or a drop in the various advanced metrics, which the Orioles are certainly deploying to figure it out.
Helsley’s track record is certainly good enough where his struggles with the Mets can be considered a blip. Before the Orioles reportedly signed him, his name was linked to the Detroit Tigers, who were interested in possibly making him a starter, something Helsley last did in 2019 for Triple-A Memphis.
The Yankees made their moves because their bullpen needed fortification due to ineffectiveness of Devin Williams and Weaver, who are both free agents the Yankees may not retain.
Williams struggled from the outset, lost his closer’s job following a ninth-inning comeback by the Blue Jays on April 25. While the Yankees did not know it then, it was among the games costing them the AL East and homefield advantage through the postseason.
After a soft landing in low leverage spots, Williams returned to closing when Weaver injured his hamstring warming up in Dodger Stadium on June 1, the day after the Knicks were eliminated from the postseason.
Hamstring injuries often take a month to heal but Weaver returned by June 20 and faltered when Ramon Urias hit a 96.4 mph fastball for a go-ahead homer in another game the Yankees could look back on an lament losing to the Orioles.
There were several games the Yankees could look back on since they were a combined 26-35 in games decided by two runs or fewer while the Blue Jays 38-28 in those games.
The free agent market for relievers was not necessarily established by Helsley’s deal since Edwin Diaz is the biggest name after he opted out of the final two years of his five-year deal with the Mets.
The deal Diaz opted out totaled $102 million. He earned about $63 million while getting 48 saves in 116 appearances over the last two seasons after missing 2023 with a knee injury sustained in the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz will be the one who likely establishes the high-end relief market like Aroldis Chapman did after the 2016 season when he returned to the Yankees following his contribution to the Cubs finally winning the World Series.
Helsley’s deal is a cautious one asking him to prove last year with the Mets was a blip. It will be interesting to how the deals for Williams and Weaver unfold.
Williams is the one with the better track record from his time in Milwaukee while Weaver’s resume of effective relief pitching is about a year when he pitched well enough to gradually move up the circle of trust in the 2024 bullpen and eventually take over closing duties for the final month and postseason.
Teams are likely doing their due diligence and figuring out if Williams and Weaver producing uneven seasons were a deviation from the norm and it seems they may get similar chances to what Helsley will get with the Orioles, who also are hoping their 75-87 record was a blip.