Mets receive solid grade acquiring Ryan Helsley from Cardinals

With some lofty goals in mind for 2025, the New York Mets have been extremely aggressive leading up to the trade deadline.

Coming into the summer, the Mets had a clear need to improve their bullpen, with the unit needing some high-leverage arms to bridge the gap to Edwin Diaz.

With their starting rotation rarely going deep into games, it has put some pressure on the bullpen to pick up the slack, and the unit hasn’t been good enough to do so at times.

That is certainly not the case anymore. After three recent trades, New York has now established arguably the best bullpen in baseball. The team was able to add southpaw Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, and then followed it up with adding Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants.

While those moves might have been good enough for the Mets to have the bullpen where they wanted it to be, they took it another step forward with the addition of a former All-Star.

Tyler Kepner of The Athletic (subscription required) recently gave the Mets a solid grade of a ‘B’ for their acquisition of St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.

“Helsley is a touch below his peak. But with all reliever deals, you have to ask: Is he better than the last guy in the bullpen? As long as the answer is yes, it’s an upgrade. And with Helsley, the answer is an easy yes," Kepner wrote.

While the 31-year-old right-hander hasn’t been as dominant as he was in 2024 when he saved 49 games, he has still been very good for the Cardinals this year.

So far in 2025, he has totaled 21 saves and a 3.00 ERA. Helsley has seen his strikeout per nine rate drop a bit, and his WHIP is significantly higher than in previous campaigns, but he is still going to be an impact addition for the Mets. As just a rental player, New York doesn't need to worry much if Helsley is starting to show signs of decline.

Now, Helsey will likely become the setup man for Diaz in New York. This is a role that he has been in previously, so the adjustment shouldn’t be too bad.

Overall, the grade of a ‘B’ seems like a fair one. Helsley hasn’t been an All-Star caliber pitcher this season for the Cardinals, but he is the final piece to making the bullpen for New York the best in the league.