Ryan Helsley was, from 2022 through 2024, one of the best relievers in baseball, pairing a 1.83 ERA with 5.7 WAR (a ridiculous sum for three relief seasons). He fell on hard times in 2025, which was particularly inconvenient for the rebuilding Cardinals, who therefore couldn’t get a huge haul for him at the deadline (a reminder of the risks of keeping an obvious trade candidate through the offseason). Then, with the Mets, he fell completely apart, with reports of pitch-tipping and a ballooning walk rate.
Helsley, 31, quickly went from one of the top relievers in baseball to a guy who might have to sign a one-year, pillow deal just to try to re-establish some value. But, with two theoretically strong pitches in a 100 mph fastball and a wipeout slider, I think a lot of teams would be very happy to give him a shot at the back of their bullpen.
Sounds exactly like the story of a guy who is going to convert back to being a starting pitcher for the first time in nearly eight years! Mmkay:
Tigers among clubs looking at free-agent pitcher Ryan Helsley as a starter. With @katiejwoo and @CodyStavenhagen: t.co/tMANHASyDO
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 23, 2025I don’t know what to make of this, man. Is this a guy just trying to be “versatile” on the market when he’s coming off a rough year? Is it just wishcasting now that he’s a free agent for the first time? Is it a team putting it out there as leverage in some other negotiation? Or is there a genuine belief that something about Helsley’s game will translate well in a conversion?
It’s pretty hard to see the latter, given that (1) he’s a two-pitch guy who’ll have to lean much more heavily on barely-used third and fourth pitches, and (2) his success with the Cardinals didn’t actually arrive until he added significant velocity to his fastball, and when he was at 97 mph, he wasn’t getting results.
There’s just nothing whatsoever in Ryan Helsley’s situation, from the outside, that makes him even a fringe starter conversion. But maybe there’s something there that we can’t see, and the Tigers – and other clubs, apparently – do see.
For the Cubs, who may already be in discussions with another starter conversion in Brad Keller (I tend to think the Cubs would bring him back as a reliever, but not as a starter), I don’t see any reason they’d be involved on Helsley if he’s set on trying to start. If he’s a bounce-back late-inning reliever type? Absolutely. I’m interested. But that’s the limit.
Ryan Helsley feels like a guy the Cubs would target and be comfortable paying.Of course, the 100+ mph fastball is a no-brainer, but Cubs coaches have also had success working with fastball shapes like Helsley's, and the profile offers room for age-related decline if it happens.… pic.twitter.com/DRWUqUDcbi
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) November 24, 2025Hence then, the article about teams looking at former cardinals closer ryan helsley as a starting pitcher was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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