Former Orioles closer Zack Britton likes the Orioles’ move to pick up Ryan Helsley as their closer even though Helsley had a rough final two months with the New York Mets in 2025.
Britton pitched parts of eight seasons in Baltimore before finishing his career with five seasons in New York, although as a Yankee rather than a Met. Britton says Orioles fans should welcome Helsley with open arms and cautious optimism.
Helsley, 31, was one of the best closers in the game with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2022-2024, recording 82 saves and striking out 225 hitters in 167.2 innings during that period. In 2024, he saved 49 games and struck out 79 hitters in 66.1 innings.
“Ultimately for me when you’re looking at the guys that were available — and I was doing a semi-deep dive into the closers that were available — he popped up because I’ve seen him pitch in St. Louis,” Britton said on Glenn Clark Radio Dec. 3. “Guy was one of the best closers in the game, not just nationally — in the game. Electric stuff.”
The 2025 season was more of a struggle for Helsley, who posted a 7.20 ERA in 20 innings following a midseason trade to the Mets.
“We can speculate all [we] want. I know from personal experience that for me and then watching other guys get traded to New York specifically, some guys just couldn’t handle it,” Britton said. “It’s a different media. It’s a different fan base. The expectations are absolutely through the roof. The fans let you know more than anywhere when you’re not performing up to the standard that they expect of you, and it’s a tough place if you start off slow to work your way out of it.”
Helsley believes he was tipping his pitches with the Mets, meaning opposing teams noticed tendencies in how he threw a particular pitch and thus were fully prepared to counter it. Britton cautioned that pitch-tipping has become a way to excuse poor performance.
“A lot of times when guys are struggling and you can’t figure it out, that’s the crutch nowadays,” Britton said. “… Pitch tipping, I take it with a grain of salt.”
Regardless, Britton is sure that snagging a closer like Helsley, even if he isn’t quite the pitcher he was during his peak years with the Cardinals, is just what the Orioles need. The Orioles are coming off a 75-87 season that saw them finish last place in the American League East, and they struggled to close out games after Félix Bautista went down.
Britton believes what the Orioles lack right now is a solid starting rotation to hand the closer leads in the ninth inning. He suggested adding one top-level starter, one mid-level starter and another reliever to get the team in a better spot to contend for the playoffs in 2025.
Regardless, Britton thinks a two-year, $28 million deal for Helsley was a solid bet by the Orioles.
“What is he compared to what he was with the Mets and what he was in St. Louis? Even if he’s somewhere in between, he’s still worth $14 million because the stuff he was doing in St. Louis, I would say he is [worth] a little bit more,” Britton said. “You just bet on the fact that he’s somewhere in between, and even if he’s that guy, he’s still one of the best closers in that division and he’s really going to help that bullpen.”
For more from Britton, listen to the full interview here:
See Also:
• Stan ‘The Fan’ Charles: Ryan Helsley Likely To Rebound With Orioles, But Don’t Fall In Love
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the New York Mets