Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Move to rotation not considered
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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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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Sets franchise record
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Helsley allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Giants.
Helsley set the Cardinals' single-season saves record at 49, surpassing Trevor Rosenthal's 48 from 2015. Helsley has posted a 6.2-inning scoreless streak with seven saves since he took a blown save Sept. 3. The closer is at a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 79:23 K:BB through 66.1 innings this season. Helsley's recent workload has been manageable, so it seems likely he'll have an opportunity to go for the 50-save mark if a chance arises in the Cardinals' last two games.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches save No. 48
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Helsley earned a save Wednesday, inducing a double play on the only pitch he threw against the Rockies.
St. Louis carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth frame, but Matthew Liberatore gave up a leadoff homer to Brenton Doyle and issued a one-out walk to Michael Toglia to prompt Helsley's entrance in a save situation. Helsley didn't take long to extinguish Colorado's hopes of a comeback, as Sam Hilliard grounded into a game-ending double play on the right-hander's first pitch. The save was Helsley's league-leading 48th of the campaign, and he has an outside chance of reaching 50 with four games remaining on St. Louis' schedule.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Collects save Sunday
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Helsley threw a perfect inning and earned a save against Cleveland on Sunday.
Helsley retired Cleveland's 1-2-3 hitters in order on 11 pitches to close out the 2-1 victory. He moved back ahead of Emmanuel Clase for the solo MLB lead with 47 saves. Helsley has converted five save chances in a row since blowing one in Milwaukee on Sept. 3, and he has not allowed an earned run since Aug. 6. He owns a 2.09 ERA with a 77:23 K:BB through 64.2 innings. Helsley could become the first closer to reach 50 saves since Edwin Diaz in 2018.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Strikes out side in 46th save
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Helsley earned a save against the Guardians on Saturday, striking out all three batters he faced in a perfect ninth inning.
Helsley had just a one-run lead to work with upon entering in the ninth frame, but he made things look easy by notching three punchouts on 12 pitches. The right-hander continued an excellent season in which he's tied for the major-league lead with 46 saves while posting a 2.12 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 77:23 K:BB over 63.2 innings. Helsley has really had his strikeout stuff working of late, as he's registered multiple strikeouts in five of his past six appearances and has posted a 15:1 K:BB over seven frames during that stretch.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Locks down 45th save
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Helsley allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Pirates.
Helsley is up to 45 saves this season, though he's earned just three of them in September amid the Cardinals' struggles to find leads. He's allowed just one unearned run over his last 14 innings, posting a 19:3 K:BB in that span. The closer has enjoyed an excellent season despite pitching on a middling team, maintaining a 2.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 74:23 K:BB over 62.2 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Clean inning in 44th save
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Helsley struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Reds.
Helsley retired the side on a tidy eight pitches (five strikes) to earn his 44th save of the season, reclaiming a share of the major-league lead with Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase. Over his last 14 appearances, Helsley has given up just two runs (one earned) over 15 innings, converting 11 of his 12 save chances in that span. He's pitched to a 2.19 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 72:23 K:BB through 61.2 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Secures 43rd save
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Helsley allowed a hit and struck out three over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Mariners.
Helsley was able to make Pedro Pages' two-run home run in the eighth inning stand as the winning hit. Helsley blew his last save chance Tuesday versus the Brewers, but that was by allowing the initial runner to score in the 11th inning. He has not given up an earned run since Aug. 6, going 8-for-9 in save opportunities while yielding just eight hits and three walks with 16 strikeouts over 12 innings since that date. For the year, Helsley has a 2.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 71:23 K:BB with 43 saves in 47 attempts over 60.2 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Blows save but collects win
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Helsley (7-4) blew the save but collected the win in Tuesday's extra-innings victory against the Brewers. He allowed one unearned run on one hit and no walks with four strikeouts over two innings.
The St. Louis flamethrower entered the 11th inning but was unable to hold a one-run lead, allowing the automatic runner to score on a Willy Adames double after striking out the first two batters. Helsley was then allowed to return in the 12th after the Cardinals scored three runs in the top of the inning and promptly set down all three batters faced. The All-Star closer has now gone 42-for-46 in save opportunities while pitching to a 2.41 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 68:23 K:BB across 59.2 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Secures 42nd save
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Helsley earned the save against the Yankees on Saturday, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
Helsley was summoned to protect a 6-5 lead in the ninth frame and struck out Austin Wells with two runners on to earn his league-leading 42nd save. The 30-year-old has allowed just one earned run in his past 10 outings and owns a 2.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 64:23 K:BB across 57.2 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Up to 41 saves
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Helsley earned the save Thursday, turning in a perfect ninth inning with no strikeouts in a 4-1 win over San Diego.
Helsley has now gone eight straight innings without allowing a run, lowering his ERA to 2.38 on the season with a 1.18 WHIP and 62:22 K:BB across 56.2 frames. He's converted an MLB-leading 41 saves in 44 chances.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Collects win Wednesday
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Helsley (6-4) earned the win Wednesday over the Padres, allowing a hit and striking out two over a scoreless inning.
Helsley kept the game tied at 3-3 in the ninth inning, and the Cardinals walked it off with a Nolan Arenado single in the bottom of the frame. This was Helsley's seventh scoreless outing in a row, a span in which he's allowed five hits and two walks while striking out seven. He's at a 2.43 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 62:22 K:BB through 55.2 innings overall, and he's the only pitcher in the majors at the 40-save mark this year, which is impressive given the Cardinals are 66-67 after Wednesday's win.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Collects 40th save
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Helsley picked up the save Sunday, allowing one hit over a scoreless ninth inning against the Twins.
Helsley worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to secure his major-league leading 40th save. Helsley has seen a bit of a decline in his peripherals this season, posting his lowest K/BB and K/9 rates along with his highest ERA and WHIP since 2021. That said, he remains one of the best relievers in the game and has been lights-out in the ninth, closing the door on all but three save chances this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Leads majors with 39 saves
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Helsley allowed one hit during a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the save Thursday against the Brewers. He did not strike out a batter.
Helsley allowed a one-out single but otherwise breezed in closing out the three-run victory. It marked his league-leading 39th save of the season, more than doubling his previous career high of 19 back in 2022. Helsley has been especially dominant over his last 18 games, posting a 1.93 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 18 strikeouts, 12 saves (14 opportunities) and three wins over 18.2 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Earns fifth win
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Helsley (5-4) struck out two and didn't put a runner on base in a scoreless inning to earn the extra-inning win over the Brewers on Wednesday.
Helsley had two strikeouts and a groundout to strand the initial runner at third base in the top of the 10th inning, and the Cardinals rallied for a walk-off win on Nolan Arenado's grand slam in the bottom of the frame. This was Helsley's fourth consecutive scoreless appearance after he allowed four runs over 2.2 innings to begin August. For the season, the St. Louis closer has a 2.56 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 60:22 K:BB while converting 38 of 41 save chances across 52.2 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Secures 38th save
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Helsley picked up the save over the Dodgers on Saturday, striking out one over a perfect ninth inning.
Helsley made short work of the middle of the Dodgers' lineup, retiring the side in order on just six pitches after entering the contest with a three-run lead in the ninth. It marked the 38th save for the right-hander, which leads the majors, and it was only the second time this month in which he didn't allow any hits or walks. Helsley has now converted each of his last five save opportunities, posting a 4:3 K:BB over that stretch.
Helsley gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 37th save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Royals.
It didn't look like Helsley's services would be needed headed into the late innings, but the Cardinals scored twice in the eighth and ninth frames to erase a 5-4 deficit. The St. Louis closer then made things interesting by bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but he coaxed a double play grounder out of Vinnie Pasquantino to end the night. Helsley has worked three of the last four days, likely making him unavailable Saturday, but he racked up saves in each appearance to extend his major-league lead in saves over Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase (33).
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Records 36th save
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Helsley allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Rays.
Helsley allowed multiple baserunners for the third time in four appearances in August, but he was able to work out of the jam to earn his second save in as many days. Since the start of July, he's given up 11 hits and five walks over 11.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) while converting six of eight save chances in that span. The prolonged shakiness has led to his ratios looking less dominant than they did early in the year, but he's still posted a 2.72 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 57:21 K:BB across 49.2 innings while converting 36 of 40 save chances.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Escapes with 35th save
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Helsley gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning Tuesday to record his 35th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Rays. He struck out one.
The right-hander came dangerously close to blowing his fourth save chance of the year, putting the first two batters he faced aboard before Jonny DeLuca poked a two-out single to left field, but Helsley was able to get Taylor Walls to ground out to end the game. The Cards' closer has been tagged for four runs in his last three appearances, but on the season he still sports a 2.77 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 55:20 K:BB through 48.2 innings. Helsley's 35 saves lead the majors, two ahead of the Guardians' Emmanuel Clase.
