Ryan Helsley suddenly went from being a top closer in the National League with the St. Louis Cardinals to an ineffective setup man with the Mets seemingly overnight. While the Mets were able to overcome his blown save Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, it invited more questions about why Helsley has given up 10 earned runs in only 8 2/3 innings since being traded to the Mets at the July 31 deadline.
This came just hours after president of baseball operations David Stearns gave Helsley a vote of public vote of confidence.
“The stuff is still there,” Stearns said. “He’s been good in this league for a long time, and he’s going to be good.”
While this is probably true, it only served to inflame the Mets fans who have little patience for performance issues this time of year. The bullpen is crucial to the Mets’ success right now, even more than usual given the starting rotation’s seeming inability to get through 5-6 innings on a nightly basis. A veteran with more than five years of major league service time, it’s not like the Mets can just send him to the minor leagues to let him figure it out.
Even if that was an option, they don’t have time to let him figure it out. Last season, when Edwin Diaz was at the peak of his struggles, the Mets used the closer in lower-leverage situations for a while to rebuild his confidence. But September is around the corner and the Mets have to hold off the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card standings. They still see a path toward winning the NL East, and after Brandon Nimmo helped them walk off over the Phillies on Tuesday, they’re not 5.0 games behind Philadelphia with five still to play against their division rivals.
Every game is important.
“We’re playing high-leverage games pretty much every night,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday ahead of the final home game of the season against the Phillies. “You’re trying to match up as much as possible, trying to give him an easier lane at times. Like yesterday, I went with [Tyler] Rogers against the top of the lineup thinking, ‘OK, he’ll get [a lane].’ There’s not an easy lane against that one, obviously, but you’re trying to mix and match who you have available and who’s not. Do I want to give him a softer [spot to face]? Of course, but the game will dictate that.”
There has been some speculation that Helsley could be tipping his pitches, but the Mets think it’s more of a problem with his fastball not getting the elevation it needs to be effective. This has been the problem with left-hander Sean Manaea as well. It could be a matter of execution, or a matter of coaching. However, Manaea has been able to elevate his fastball with the Mets in the past, and Helsley came to New York already familiar with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, with the two of them working out of the same Oklahoma facility in the offseason.
It could be usage, but it might be too small of a sample size to know. Helsley has a career 4.44 ERA when pitching on zero days of rest, which he’s done 50 times. The Cardinals tried to stay away from using him in back-to-back games, and probably for good reason: With one day of rest, he has a 2.27 ERA (71 games), and with two, he has a 2.50 ERA (66 games). Just about every Mets reliever has to be able to pitch on back-to-back days and three times in four days right now with the state of the starting staff.
The Mets don’t see this as the issue either.
“As a closer, if you’re not winning a lot of games, you’re probably not pitching in a lot of back-to-backs,” Mendoza said. “This guy saved 49 games [last season], there’s a lot of experience there with him going back-to-back. We’re not worried about the usage. Whether he’s pitching in back-to-back games or getting the proper rest, I think it comes down just executing and cleaning some things up mechanically.”
The Mets continue to search for answers for Helsley, and they’ll continue to support him as well.
“I’ve been through that, and my advice to him is stay with your head up,” Diaz said. “We trust him, we know the pitcher he is, he’s one of the best closers in the game. He’s going through some bad moments right now, but we [have] trust in him.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Right-hander Huascar Brazobán underwent imaging on his side Wednesday after complaining of tightness the night prior. Imaging came back clean, but the Mets had already called up Kevin Herget in the event that Brazobán was injured, and decided to keep Herget as a fresh arm since the reliever threw 24 pitches Tuesday. Brazobán was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Outfielder/DH Jesse Winker (lower back) and center fielder Jose Siri started rehab assignments with Low-A St. Lucie on Wednesday. It’s unclear how the two will fit on the roster once they return, but the Mets aren’t ready to commit to a timeline for a return for either of them.
