Reliever set the St. Louis Cardinals’ single-season saves record on Friday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Helsley has been possibly the most promising position for the 2024 Cardinals. This offseason, the franchise should explore a long-term contract with the closer before he enters unrestricted free agency in 2026.
St. Louis Cardinals Should Prioritize Locking In Record Setting Reliever
Helsley Sets The record
Trevor Rosenthal held the Cardinals record for most saves in a single season for nearly a decade. Rosenthal recorded 48 saves in 2015. The Cardinals won 100 games that season. In 2024, the Cardinals won 82 games, although Helsley had more saves than Rosenthal. He broke the record with a two-strikeout inning on Friday.
“It feels great, I worked really hard all year,” Helsley remarked after the victory. “The guys in front of me did an excellent job.” The entire bullpen gets credit for this. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Helsley was dominant in the ninth inning all season. He converted all but four of his save opportunities. He also picked up seven victories. Helsley also has an excellent 2.07 ERA with two games left in the season.
“It’s been fun to watch him all year, he’s done an incredible job,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after Friday’s triumph. “His ability to simply take the ball, and there’s no way we’ve played so many close games and gotten to this point without him doing so. He’s definitely been quite effective. That clubhouse thoroughly enjoyed watching him take that.”
Contract Situation
Helsley had the best season of any Cardinals closer ever for a low cost. The 30-year-old avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.8 million contract for 2024. Helsley is eligible for arbitration again in 2025. If he signs another one-year contract, he will become an unrestricted free agency in 2026.
The free agent market for closers has been significantly modified as we move into 2024. This past offseason, the Houston Astros signed Josh Hader to a five-year contract worth $95 million. Hader was coming off a season in which he converted 33 of 38 save opportunities for the San Diego Padres. Hader is an appropriate analogy to Helsley. Both are thirty years old. Hader has a 2.70 ERA in eight MLB season and Helsley has 2.63 ERA in six seasons.
The expense of a setup bullpen pitcher was similarly high last offseason. Robert Stephenson signed a three-year contract worth $33 million with the Los Angeles Angels. However, Stephenson underwent season-ending elbow surgery before throwing a pitch for his new team in 2024. Former Cardinal Jordan Hicks received $11 million per year when he signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Hicks, on the other hand, was used more as a starter than as a reliever this season. However, when he signed that contract, he had primarily worked as a reliever in the MLB.
These contracts show that a relief pitcher with Helsley’s pedigree will likely earn between $11 million and $19 million per year. The Cardinals may be hesitant to sign Helsley to a long-term contract after his spectacular season in 2024. However, if he repeats his achievement in 2025 with a one-year contract, his open market price might exceed Hader’s level.
Improvement Isn’t A Mirage
Several major changes influenced Helsley’s performance this season. One was limiting him to only the ninth inning. Previously, Helsley was deployed in high-risk scenarios late in games. This may have occurred as early as the eighth inning. Helsley only pitched in the ninth or extra innings in 2024. In 2023, more than 30% of his effort came in the seventh or eighth inning.
Throughout the season, Helsley stated that the move helped him mentally prepare for his appearances. It also aided Marmol in knowing he had an anchor if he could make it to the ninth with a lead.
“We can definitely rely on him; he’s on point. “If you make it to the ninth, you’ve won the game,” Marmol remarked Friday. “He did it often. We played a lot of close games, within three, two, and one run ball games. Every time we handed him the ball, he was dirty. A solid year for him.”
Helsley also used his fastball less in 2024. His average fastball velocity in 2024 was 99.6 mph. It remained a weapon for him all season. However, by 2024, he had moved from his most used pitch to his second most used pitch. In 2023, he threw his fastball 56.2 percent of the time and his slider 36.7 percent. In 2024, he used his slider the most (48.3 percent) and his fastball the second most (45.5 percent). His curveball was a pitch he used less than eight percent of the time both seasons.
“Just trying to mix it up, keep guys off balance,” Helsley explained regarding the adjustment on Friday. “I feel like I’ve got three really good pitches. So, I’m trying to mix them up and attack them the best I can.”
Helsley’s Slider
In 2024, the slider sank even further for Helsley. He increased the vertical drop by 1.2 inches this season compared to 2023. Good enough to place the pitch in the top three percentile of vertical drops for sliders in the League this year.
This season, Helsley’s three-pitch repertoire resulted in pitchers missing 36.1 percent of their contact attempts. He remained healthy all year. The closer appears to be in his prime and could be a key bullpen arm for any competing team. If the Cardinals want to be contenders in 2025 and beyond, they should explore signing him to a multi-year contract.
