Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Ryan Helsley

Arizona Diamondbacks

While this one might seem odd at first, with AJ Puk and Justin Martinez on the roster, one must remember that both were shut down last year with serious injuries, and there is a chance that both of them start the year on the injured list with their respective injuries.

Andrew Saalfrank, the current favorite to be named the closer, has good stuff, but he is not anything close to the caliber of closer that Helsley can be. Not yet, at least.

Moreover, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen as a whole struggled in 2025. A team bullpen ERA of 4.82 is a recipe for disaster and placed them 27th in MLB. It should come as no surprise that they had so many issues closing out games last year, as this team led the National League last year with 29 blown saves.

As it currently stands, the Diamondbacks are projected to have a total payroll of $103.5 million, ranking 14th in the league, according to Spotrac. Helsley’s price should not be a factor to consider if they want to get back into the postseason in 2026. Solidifying a bullpen becomes that much more important when you take into consideration all of the question marks in their starting rotation.

Chicago Cubs

Mr. Ricketts, please invest in this team. Baseball fans everywhere are begging you.

The Cubs’ priority this offseason should be to re-sign Kyle Tucker before anything else. After that, the bullpen is in dire need of reinforcements. Specifically a top-tier backend option to finish off the ninth inning would go a long way.

Don’t get me wrong, Daniel Palencia did a nice job serving as the team’s closer last year, but the rest of this ‘pen leaves so much to be desired. They have already traded away Andrew Kittredge to Baltimore at the beginning of the offseason, and are likely losing Brad Keller to free agency.

Let’s get Helsley back in the NL Central, where he has a career 2.92 ERA across 123.1 innings pitched. He knows this division well and could thrive as the closer in Chicago.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins have entered, what all rumors seem to point to as, the next phase of what was a quick retool.

All indications are that the Fish are looking to financially invest in their roster for the upcoming season. With a strong core already solidified offensively and a rotation full of strong options, the ninth inning should be near the top of the list of signings they need to make.

The Marlins deployed a quintet of Ronny Henriquez, Calvin Faucher, Luke Bachar, Anthony Bender, and Tyler Phillips to close games for them in 2025, all of whom performed well. For a team that looked to exploit matchups at any point throughout the game, having a lockdown closer would only add to their ability to use their firemen out of the ‘pen in more spots throughout the game.

Helsley feels like a great candidate for the full-time closer’s role in Miami and would be much-needed mentor and leader for the young arms in the bullpen.

San Francisco Giants

Ryan Walker looked to have been on his way to being named one of the best closers in baseball when we entered 2025. Unfortunately, that just didn’t work out for him or the organization.

After Walker was removed from the ninth, Camilo Doval took over as the closer before he was dealt to the Yankees at the deadline. After that, Randy Rodriguez took over, performed well, but he went down with an injury and will now miss all of the 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Walker seemed to thrive in a setup role before 2025. Sliding him back into that eighth-inning spot and adding in Helsley to the closer role would be immensely beneficial for the ball club.

I am sure that the newly appointed manager, Tony Vitello, would agree that having a consistent option to close games would be his preference in his first season coaching in professional baseball.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been searching for a true closer for quite some time. You could make an argument that Joe Nathan in 2013 was the last true closer they had.

Texas attempted to piece together its closer situation, starting with the one-for-one swap last December with the Nationals that sent first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to Washington for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia. In 64 innings pitched last season, Garcia pitched to a strong 2.95 ERA, but only accounted for nine saves. Sadly enough, it was tied for the team lead with Shawn Armstrong.

Helsley would immediately slide into the closer role for the Rangers as soon as he puts pen to paper. Newly appointed manager Skip Schumaker, during his time managing the Marlins, tended to rely heavily on one pitcher to fill that ninth-inning role for him in the two seasons in Miami.

The Rangers are heavily committed financially to their roster. If they want to maximize whatever is left of their window, they need to make sure the backend of their bullpen is in good hands.