{"id":898925,"date":"2026-10-29T16:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T16:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898925\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T16:32:10","slug":"ryan-helsley-to-exercise-player-option","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898925\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Helsley To Exercise Player Option"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orioles right-hander Ryan Helsley<\/a> will exercise his $14MM player option and forgo a return to the open market, reports<\/a> Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. He\u2019ll remain with the team through 2027 before becoming a free agent again next winter.<\/p>\n

There was never any real doubt this would be the case. Helsley signed a two-year, $28MM deal with Baltimore last offseason on the heels of a poor finish to his 2025 season with the Mets. The second season of the contract was a player option. Injuries limited him to just 15 1\/3 innings, and the longtime Cardinals closer finished out the 2026 season on the 60-day injured list due to discomfort in his right elbow.<\/p>\n

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From 2022-24, Helsley was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball. He saved 82 games and tallied nine holds with St. Louis across those three seasons, pitching to a collective 1.83 ERA with a 34.6% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. The flamethrowing righty averaged better than 99 mph with his heater during that time and regularly popped triple-digit readings on radar guns. His 17.4% swinging-strike rate across those three years was eighth-best among 185 qualified relievers.<\/p>\n

As the Cards transitioned into a retool\/rebuild, Helsley\u2019s name was bandied about the 2024-25 offseason\u2019s rumor circuit. The Cards ultimately held onto him into the year \u2014 a decision that looked questionable when Helsley stumbled through a relatively shaky start to his season. He\u2019d gotten back on track by the time the 2025 trade deadline rolled around, and St. Louis flipped him to the Mets for a three-prospect package headlined by infielder Jes\u00fas B\u00e1ez<\/a>, who could make his debut with the Cards next year. (Not to be confused with outfielder Joshua B\u00e1ez<\/a>, who already debuted with the Cards in 2026.)<\/p>\n

The Mets fit was a disaster. Helsley was healthy but allowed 16 runs in 20 frames with New York. His struggles \u2014 eventually attributed to Helsley tipping his pitches \u2014 contributed to the team\u2019s stunning collapse and postseason miss. It was a sour note on which to end the platform year for an impending free agent who just months earlier looked ticketed for a massive free agent payout.<\/p>\n

Helsley still cashed in on a nice two-year contract, providing him the safety of a sizable guarantee with an opportunity to return to market if his first season in Baltimore went well. It was less than half what he might\u2019ve earned with a strong \u201925 showing, but he still landed in a decent spot.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, multiple trips to the IL owing to elbow inflammation and elbow discomfort left him with 15 1\/3 frames of a 4.11 ERA. Helsley\u2019s 98.7 mph average fastball was still blistering but down a full mile per hour from his peak. His 30.9% strikeout rate and 16.5% swinging-strike rate were in similar boats \u2014 both excellent, if not elite numbers that still marked a step back from Helsley\u2019s top form. The righty\u2019s 13.2% walk rate, however, was the worst he\u2019s ever posted in a 162-game season.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no indication that Helsley needs surgery or will miss time in 2027. He\u2019ll take aim at a healthier showing next year, when the O\u2019s are also set to welcome back former All-Star closer Felix Bautista<\/a>, who missed the 2026 season after undergoing shoulder surgery late in the 2025 season \u2014 an injury that contributed to the team\u2019s signing of Helsley in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cIfs\u201d don\u2019t come much bigger than this, but if both are healthy and back in their typical form next year, Bautista and Helsley could form one of the most dominant one-two punches of any bullpen in the sport. A setup corps that includes Yennier Cano<\/a> and Rico Garcia<\/a> only furthers Baltimore\u2019s bullpen depth. They\u2019ll still be in the mix for relief help this winter \u2014 as are all teams \u2014 but the foundation that\u2019s in place has an extraordinarily high ceiling if everything clicks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orioles right-hander Ryan Helsley will exercise his $14MM player option and forgo a return to the open market,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,37962,99],"class_list":["post-898925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-ryan-helsley","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}