Orioles, closer Helsley agree to 2-year contract
The Orioles signed closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year contract Monday, continuing the remaking of their beleaguered pitching staff with one of the most sought-after relievers on the free agent market.
Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the deal is for $28 million and includes an opt-out after the first season.
While multiple teams sought to sign Helsley as a starter, the 31-year-old right-hander chose to remain in the role that made him a two-time All-Star and will hand him the ninth inning for the Orioles while retaining the ability to reach the open market after 2026.
Helsley, whose deal is pending a physical, is the second bullpen addition of the winter for Baltimore, which reacquired right-hander Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs after dealing him to Chicago at the trade deadline. With a moribund pitching staff, the Orioles went 75-87 and finished in last place in the American League East after consecutive postseason berths.
Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias trawled the free agent market for a late-inning option and landed on Helsley, who over his seven-year career has a 2.96 ERA in 319⅔ innings with 377 strikeouts, 133 walks and 105 saves.
Among the lowest points were the final two months of Helsley’s 2025 season, when, following a deadline deal from St. Louis to the New York Mets, he posted a 7.20 ERA and allowed 36 baserunners in 20 innings. Coming off an All-Star showing for St. Louis in 2024, which included a National League-leading 49 saves and a 2.04 ERA, Helsley saved 21 games with a solid 3.00 ERA for the Cardinals before the deadline, when he was sent to the Mets for three prospects.
Acquired to deepen a New York bullpen anchored by closer and fellow free agent Edwin Diaz, Helsley struggled badly during his time with the Mets. He blew saves in three straight appearances in mid-August and spent most of the past month working in low-leverage situations as New York collapsed down the stretch and missed the postseason.
Baltimore saw more noise than signal in Helsley’s downturn and is banking on Helsley’s stuff — which pitch-quality metrics rate as some of the best in the game — returning him to dominance. Helsley deploys one of baseball’s hardest fastballs, which averaged 99.3 mph in 2025, according to Statcast, ranking in the 99th percentile of all pitchers.
With incumbent closer Felix Bautista expected to miss the 2026 seasons following rotator cuff and labrum surgeries in August, the Orioles entered the winter with only right-hander Yennier Cano and left-hander Keegan Akin as veteran bullpen options. Beyond Helsley and Kittredge, Baltimore could add another reliever, sources said. The Orioles’ need for pitching help isn’t limited to their bullpen, either. Following the trade of Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels for left fielder Taylor Ward, Baltimore continues to pursue starting-pitching options to join left-hander Trevor Rogers and right-hander Kyle Bradish at the top of their rotation, sources said.
A fifth-round pick out of Northeastern State in Oklahoma, Helsley was a full-time starter throughout the minor leagues until he joined the Cardinals’ big league roster. From 2022 to ’24, he was arguably the most valuable reliever in the NL, alongside right-hander Devin Williams, a free agent with whom the Orioles spoke as well.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle contributed to this report.
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Greg Wyshynski
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is warning teams against taking warmups without helmets, a growing trend this season that violates NHL rules.
Daly told ESPN that the league is sending out a memo to remind teams that helmets are mandatory in warmups for “all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later,” per Rule 9.6.
The Ottawa Senators skated out for warmups without helmets in a game at the Vegas Golden Knights last Wednesday, having lost in their past six trips to T-Mobile Arena. Forward Shane Pinto told TSN that the players decided at a team dinner to change their Vegas luck by doffing their helmets. “It was pretty cool to do,” he said.
The Senators won the game 4-3 in a shootout.
The San Jose Sharks also went without helmets in warmups in Vegas, having lost five straight road games to the Knights. Alas, their luck didn’t change, losing 4-3 to their division rival. Forward Will Smith said there was no particular motivation for it.
“It was a team decision. It was Saturday night in Vegas, so I think all the guys were pretty easy to [do] it,” he said.
On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils skated out wearing hats instead of helmets, in honor of defenseman Brenden Dillon‘s 1,000th NHL game.
Rule 9.6 reads:
“It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”
The NHL amended its rules in 2022 to mandate helmet usage in warmups out of player safety concerns, in particular with rookies who took the ice without helmets before their debut games as part of a longstanding NHL tradition. Much like the league’s visor rule, some veteran players were “grandfathered” in and exempt.
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