The Baltimore Orioles and right-handed relief pitcher Ryan Helsley have agreed to terms on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who added that the O’s will turn to him as their closer.
Helsley spent time with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, who added the reliever before the trade deadline, last season. Over 58 games, Helsley posted a 4.50 ERA (1.54 WHIP) with 63 strikeouts in 56 innings.
Helsley played for the Cardinals for six-plus seasons. He’s fared quite well overall, making a pair of All-Star Games while posting a 2.96 ERA (1.17 WHIP) and 10.6 K/9 rate. He was particularly strong from 2022-2024 (1.83 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 12.1 K/9 rate). Helsley also had an MLB-high 49 saves in 2024.
Last year was an anomaly for Helsley compared to his past form. He struggled with the Mets (7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP in 22 games) to close the year and gave up two or three earned runs in six of his appearances.
The Orioles certainly hope that was a blip on the radar and Helsley returns to his old ways. At any rate, O’s general manager Mike Elias wanted a closer in the offseason, and now he has one.
Baltimore is looking to bounce back from an ugly 75-87 season that ended with the team finishing last in the AL East. It was a disappointing result considering the hope brought by a host of young players who led Baltimore to a 100-win season just two years ago.
The O’s have been regressing ever since, winning 89 games last year before the Kansas City Royals swept them in the AL Wild Card Series and then bottoming out in the division last year. Last year’s team was 16-34 at one point but stabilized and went six games over .500 for the rest of the season.