Yankees Should Consider Struggling Mets Pitcher

It's a far cry from where he was before the trade, which had the Mets sending their longtime NL rival shortstop prospect Jesus Baez as well as two pitchers, Frank Elissalt and Nate Dohm. In 36 innings with the Cardinals, Helsley had a 3 ERA. He struck out 41 and walked 14.

Helsley opened up about his struggles at the conclusion of his season. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the veteran closer did not think the change in environment would be so challenging.

"I didn't think it was going to be as hard a transition as it was," Helsley said. "I think it's only human nature to want to show your value, probably press a little too hard, too much, maybe overthink things or overwork things instead of being the same guy I had been the last four years."

He felt his biggest issue may have been pitch tipping.

"Obviously, I made a couple of mechanical changes, posture changes with my hands, so that's a big adjustment after pitching the same way for the majority of my career. But I think it'll benefit me in the long run to be there and not have to worry about possibly tipping again."

Why Helsley Works

Helsley's struggles aside, the one thing he does better than most in MLB is deliver high velocity. His 99.3 MPH average fastball velo was in the 99th percentile this season.

Outside of Camilo Doval, Bednar, and Jonathan Loaisiga, who was largely ineffective before going down, velocity was something the Yankees' pen lacked. They were at the bottom of that category in MLB. Their 94.1 MPH average velocity out of the pen was 24th. It was only slightly up from 2024, when they were 28th. That year, their bullpen averaged 93.9 MPH on their heaters.

One thing Helsley is looking for in free agency is getting back in high leverage situations. Heading into 2026, Bednar will be the closer, but having a legitimate 7th or 8th inning guy will be up in the air. Helsley could be a fit if the organization believes they could clean up the mess he found himself in with the Mets.

"Hopefully they see me as a backend guy," Helsley said of his next team. "I feel like I've shown I can do that in my career over the last four seasons. I think the last month or so that I've struggled here, a lot of things can be attributed to it. And even the game's greatest players go through it."

Helsley, much like Williams, did get his act together to finish 2025. After imploding for a better part of two months, in his last six games, he didn't allow a run in seven innings. During that span, he gave up a lot of weak contact. Helsley had an average exit velocity of 87 MPH, a 13.3% hard hit rate, and didn't let a single pitch be barrelled.

The reliever said he believes his stuff speaks for itself.

"In free agency, teams are more willing to pay you on 'stuff.' There are more things teams can quantify nowadays than ERA. Teams can dig deep and see what they like about guys. There are 30 teams out there, and I'll be willing to listen to all of them."

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