Ryan Helsley, who spent parts of seven seasons with the Cardinals, agreed to a two-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
The St. Louis Cardinals made a major move in preparation of what will likely be a years-long rebuild when they traded starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox on Nov. 25.
It was the first major move made by former Red Sox and current Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. But arguably the first major domino to fall in that rebuild happened during this past season's trade deadline.
Bloom and St. Louis dealt longtime closer and pending free agent Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets in return for shortstop Jesus Baez and right-handed pitchers Frank Elissalt and Nate Dohm on July 30.
Helsley recently appeared on the Card Territory podcast and said he expected the Cardinals to reach out to him this offseason about a potential reunion.
Alas, it seems like a return to St. Louis is not meant to be. According to ESPN's MLB insider Jeff Passan, Helsley and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed on a two-year, $28 million contract. The deal reportedly included an opt out after the first year of the contract.
Helsley reportedly drew interest from several teams this offseason, but a lot of the clubs eyeing him wanted wanted to convert him from a closer to a starting pitcher.
According to Passan's report, Helsley will be able to stay a closer or high-leverage reliever for the Orioles, where he's spent the entirety of his career.
Helsley was originally picked by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Northeastern State. He made his major league debut in 2019.
Helsley has a career 2.96 ERA with 377 strikeouts in 319.2 innings pitched across 297 appearances.
Helsley is a two-time All-Star (2022-24), a National League Reliever of the Year ('24), MLB saves leader ('24) and a former All-MLB first-team selection ('24).
This past year, Helsley had a 4.50 ERA and fanned 63 batters in 56 innings pitched across 58 outings. He had a 3.00 ERA in 36 appearances with the Cardinals and a 7.20 ERA in 22 outings with the Mets.
RELATED CARDINALS STORIES
CARDINALS PLAYERS EARN BONUSES IN PRE-ARBITRATION POOL: The Cardinals had several players earn honors and raises as a result. CLICK HERE
EX-CARDINALS OUTFIELDER ISN'T CONFIDENT TEAM WILL FIND CLOSER: Former Cardinals All-Star and World Series champion Matt Holliday, believes the team will go with a committee to find their closer. CLICK HERE
TOP CARDINALS PROSPECT'S FUTURE COULD BE DETERMINED BY OFFSEASON MOVES: The organization's Minor League Player of the Year and top 10 prospect J.J. Wetherholt has various different ways he can make his major league debut. CLICK HERE
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!