Mets concerned about pitch tipping with their All-Star trade acquisition

The New York Mets are struggling now with their top trade-deadline acquisition, and they are trying their best to find an explanation for it.

Mets reliever Ryan Helsley had another meltdown during Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Helsley took the mound in the top of the eighth at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. and was tasked with protecting a 5-3 lead.

Unfortunately, Helsley failed the task miserably, getting just one out before giving up a game-tying two-run homer to Philadelphia’s Harrison Bader. Fellow Mets reliever Edwin Diaz then took the hill to record the final two outs of the inning.

After the game, which the Mets went on to win 6-5 after a walkoff single by Brandon Nimmo, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed concern about potential pitch tipping with Helsley.

“For them to have comfortable at-bats, something’s going on here that we have to figure out.” said Mendoza of Helsley, per Tim Britton of The Athletic.

Helsley is a two-time All-Star who was lights-out for the St. Louis Cardinals, posting a 1.83 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP with 12.1 K/9 over the previous three MLB seasons combined. But he has been an abject disaster ever since the Mets acquired him at the trade deadline in a notable deal with the Cardinals.

In New York, Helsley has now given up 10 earned runs over 11 appearances, resulting in a horrific ERA of 10.38. Helsley has also allowed several more inherited runners to cross the plate with 14 total runs surrendered under his watch. While Helsley’s strikeout numbers are still up to par, he is walking batters at a near-career-high rate with the Mets and is also allowing much harder contact.

It is unclear if Helsley, who has dealt with other issues affecting his performance in the past, has actually been tipping pitches. But the Mets certainly have their suspicions, and they are going to need to get the bottom of Helsley’s issues if they want him to be at all usable for them during a potential playoff run.