2025 Report Card: Ryan Helsley, RHP

Ryan Helsley, RHP

Player Data: Age: 31 (7/18/1994) B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 0-3, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 22 SO, 11 BB, 22 G
Advanced Stats: 57 ERA+, 23.2 K%, 11.6 BB%, 4.34 xERA, 5.19 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, -0.2 fWAR, -0.9 bWAR

2025 Salary: N/A (free agent)

Grade: D

2025 Review

Yes, it’s time for the ugly but necessary report card on Helsley.

The right-hander became sort of the unfortunate poster boy for the Mets’ midseason downfall. Among the Mets’ deadline acquisitions, Helsley had the biggest gap between expectations and eventual performance. He and Tyler Rogers were supposed to shore up a struggling bullpen. Instead, things somehow got even worse.

Helsley’s first month-plus as a Met was simply disastrous. He allowed 20 runs (16 earned) over his first 13 innings in orange and blue. This was a guy who got Cy Young votes last year after posting a 2.04 ERA in 65 games with the Cardinals. He’d taken a slight step back with St. Louis before the trade deadline, but he still put up a 3.00 ERA on the dot in 36 games. He was acquired to be the setup guy for Edwin Díaz, and instead became a complete liability.

Probably the only thing keeping his grade from being an F was the way he finished. Over his last six appearances of the season, he threw seven scoreless innings. It was too late to salvage his season by then, but he at least made a decent postseason audition, if the Mets had made it. Instead, he left everyone thinking about what could have been, had he figured it out sooner.

Even combined with his St. Louis numbers, Helsley was in the bottom 7% of MLB in opponents’ exit velocity. Batters hit a whopping .422 against his hard but straight four-seam fastball. The expected batting average was a full .100 points lower, at a still-not-great .322.

His slider was effective, but even then, his whiff rate was about 10% lower than it was in his elite 2024 season.

When you combine his 3.00 ERA with the Cardinals with his 7.20 ERA as a Met, he had a 4.50 ERA overall in 58 games. That’s similar to what he posted in 2021 as a Cardinal, with a 4.56 in 51 games.

Any way you slice it, this season was a step back for Helsley, who was one of the game’s best relievers from 2022 through 2024.

2026 Preview

With Helsley entering free agency, it’s hard to really see the Mets bringing him back. Because of the way things went sour, it’s likely best for both parties if he finds an opportunity somewhere else.

Surely, a team will look at the way he finished the season, along with how dominant he was not that long ago, and try to mold him back into form. Realistically, that team probably won’t be the Mets. But bullpen help will obviously be a major focus of this offseason for New York.

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