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: 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: 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.
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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.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Blows save, takes fourth loss
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Helsley (4-4) blew the save and was charged with the loss against the Cubs on Thursday, allowing three runs on four hits over two-thirds of an inning.
Helsley entered the contest with a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and retired the first batter on a groundout before surrendering a solo homer to Cody Bellinger. He would then allow three of the next four batters to reach as the Cubs took the game in dramatic fashion. It marked Helsley's third blown save on the season while the loss was his fourth. He had not allowed an earned run in 10 straight appearances coming into Thursday's loss, though he's now failed to convert two of his last four save opportunities.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Collects win Sunday
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Helsley (4-3) allowed a hit in a scoreless inning, earning the win over the Nationals on Sunday.
Helsley kept the game tied in the top of the ninth inning, and Paul Goldschmidt delivered a walk-off solo home run a half-inning later. This was just the seventh appearance of the month for Helsley, as the Cardinals' shaky play over the last three weeks have left him with inconsistent closing opportunities. He's still leading the National League -- and tied for the first in the majors -- with 33 saves while pitching to a 2.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 54:19 K:BB through 46 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Replaced on All-Star roster
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Helsley was replaced Monday on the National League All-Star Game roster with Nationals reliever Kyle Finnegan.
Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Helsley said that he wasn't likely to pitch in Tuesday's All-Star Game and instead wished to get rest over the All-Star break. The 29-year-old closer confirmed he was healthy and is merely monitoring his workload, having already appeared in 41 games and thrown 42 innings this season. Helsley's career high in appearances is 54, and he hasn't pitched more than 64.2 innings in any individual season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Earns 31st save
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Helsley earned a save against the Pirates on Tuesday, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Helsley was asked to protect a 7-4 lead in the ninth inning and did so on 17 pitches. He leads the league with 31 saves and has not blown a save chance since his first outing of the season. Through 38 innings, the 29-year-old owns a 2.54 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 47:16 K:BB.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Reaches 30-save milestone
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Helsley struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save over Cincinnati on Sunday.
Helsley efficiently rolled through the Reds' 2-3-4 hitters with just 10 pitches. He extended his MLB save lead and became the first pitcher in the 2024 season to reach 30 saves. He's converted those 30 saves consecutively after blowing his first opportunity of the year March 30. Helsley is sporting a 2.61 ERA with a 46:16 K:BB through 38 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Extends saves lead
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Helsley struck out one batter in a perfect inning to earn a save over the Reds on Friday.
Helsley had about as efficient of an outing as possible, needing only six pitches to close out the 1-0 game. It was his 29th save in 30 tries this season, and he lowered his June ERA to 3.00 through 12 appearances. Helsley leads all of baseball in saves and no one else has more than 25. He dropped his season ERA to 2.68 alongside a 44:16 K:BB.
