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• Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Impressive in first save chance

  10H ago • By RotoWire

  Helsley struck out the side and allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Twins. Helsley was called upon to protect a two-run lead and looked overpowering by touching 101 mph with his fastball to collect his first save of the season. He did surrender a two-out double to Harrison Bader to make things interesting, but Helsley proceeded to strike out Matt Wallner on four pitches to end the game. Helsley could be subject to trade rumors during the summer months, but he should be an elite closing option for now.

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• Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Still no contract extension talks

  29D ago • By RotoWire

  Helsley said recently that he has not had any discussions with the Cardinals regarding a contract extension, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports. While Helsley -- who will be a free agent after this season -- said he would "definitely be open" to talking about a long-term deal, he does not expect those discussions to occur anytime soon. The Cardinals will transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom as their president of baseball operations after the season and are not looking to add to their payroll right now, so an extension for their closer isn't at the forefront of their plans. Helsley will make $8.2 million in 2025 and is a good bet to be dealt at the trade deadline.

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• Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Showcases cutter Thursday

  02/21/2025 • By RotoWire

  Helsley appeared to make use of a cutter as part of his arsenal while throwing his first live batting practice of the spring Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Helsley already looks to be fully ramped up in the early stages of the spring; the hard-throwing righty uncorked fastballs clocked at 98 mph for his first three pitches of Thursday's session. He also utilized his curveball and slider as part of his core three-pitch mix and complemented those offerings with a cutter, a pitch he's thrown just six total times during his six-year MLB career, per FanGraphs.com. Helsley will likely continue to experiment with his cutter throughout the spring before determining if he can command the pitch well enough to make it a consistent part of his repertoire heading into the regular season. Whether or not he ultimately expands his arsenal, Hesley shapes up as an upper-tier fantasy closer, coming off a brilliant 2024 season in which he recorded an MLB-leading 49 saves to go with seven wins and a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21.1 K-BB%).

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• Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Settles with Cards

  01/09/2025 • By RotoWire

  Helsley agreed to a one-year, $8.2 million contract with the Cardinals on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports. After leading the majors with 49 saves last season, Helsley has officially earned himself a $4.4 million raise heading into his final year of team control. The 30-year-old reliever also finished 2024 with a 2.04 ERA and 1.10 WHIP alongside a 79:23 K:BB, and he projects as one of the top fantasy closers entering the new year.

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• Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Move to rotation not considered

  11/12/2024 • By RotoWire

  The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.

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