Mets Deadline Day Bust Sparks Hope After Pinpointing Career-Worst Slump Cause: “I Know How to Fix It”

The whispers started weeks ago when Ryan Helsley’s heater stopped surprising hitters in Atlanta. He faced seven batters and gave up three runs and a walk in that inning. And all three runs came from 3 hard-hit balls. Then the Mets’ prized deadline acquisition almost blew another game Tuesday night against the Phillies, entering in the eighth inning with a two-run lead. He gave up a game-tying homer to his old teammate Harrison Bader and was ultimately replaced by Edwin Diaz. 

Helsley owns four blown saves, a 10.38 ERA, and a 2.31 WHIP since his trade. In 11 appearances, he allowed 14 runs, ten earned, and 13 hits during this time as a Met. Before the trade, though, his numbers weren’t this bad. He was posting a decent 3.00 ERA with 21 saves this season for the Cardinals.

And manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed the team’s worst fear after Tuesday’s outing. “Too good of a stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, get really good takes on sliders. We got to look back and see what we’re missing,” Mendoza hinted. “For teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something is going on here. We have to figure it out.” 

Helsley himself spoke about the ‘glaring’ issues with his game right now. “I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I feel like my stuff’s too good to get hit around as consistently as it has since I’ve been here,” Helsley told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “It’s pretty glaring and obvious when I’m doing it.”

The two-time All-Star reliever further added, “A hundred’s not going to play the same when guys know it’s coming”.  Helsey then revealed that tipping is not brand-new to his career, referencing his previous incidents of this issue during his time with the Cardinals.

“I’ve had some trouble with it in the past, but obviously not to this extent,” he said. He knows the fix won’t be easy, but he is confident that he will get it right. “I think I know how to fix it,” Helsley told The Athletic. “So it’s just being able to enforce that and that being my mental norm versus what I was doing to get my body to accept that and reinforce that.” 

Helsley’s personal battle now becomes the team’s most urgent problem.

Why do the Mets believe Ryan Helsey’s issue can be fixed?

The Mets traded for Helsley to build a super bullpen, based on his last year when he won the Reliever of the Year award with a Cardinals franchise-record 49 saves. The plan was to make things easier for closer Edwin Díaz. The team also acquired Gregory Soto and Tyler Rogers for the same reason.

Helsley himself has owned up to his failure and is ready to work on his shortcomings. “Obviously, I came here to try to help the team win, but I haven’t done that yet. So that part stinks,” he said. “But I’m trying to get this locked in and be someone who can help.”

Now with only a month left in the season, and trailing 5 games behind the Phillies in the division, the Mets cannot afford any more experiments. The good news is that the rest of the bullpen has been solid with Edwin Díaz(1.60 ERA and 24 saves), Rogers (1.88 ERA), and Soto (1.54 ERA with the Mets). But a prime Helsley—the guy with a 1.25 ERA in 2022—would have made this bullpen nearly unbeatable. Without him, the margin for error is gone.

Do you think the Mets have enough to make the playoffs without the old Helsley? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.