5 NY Mets players who catfished David Stearns worse than anybody in 2025

2) Ryan Helsley

Ryan Helsley seemed like the real deal. Stearns reverse-image searched him and couldn’t find too many signs he was dealing with a catfish. The voice matched the picture. They even had a mutual friend of some kind.

Unfortunately, Helsley wasn’t exactly who he said he was. Yeah, the photos were real. But maybe he was in a relationship already or had a past he wasn’t so honest about. Whatever it was, the Mets added a significant trade deadline piece to their roster in 2025 that ended up helping to tank the season.

A 7.20 ERA with the Mets in 20 innings of work had fans screaming in despair. The team was supposed to have one of the best one-two punches in the back of their bullpen. Helsley to Diaz. Watch out, Los Angeles Dodgers. Here we come.

As badly as this turned out, there were some red flags. Helsley had an ERA a full run higher than the year prior. His 1.38 WHIP, made largely from allowing a hit per inning, was exceptionally large and only about to grow more as he continued to get hammered in a Mets uniform.

Tipping pitches or just losing something off of his fastball this year (batters hit .422 against it), he’s currently the biggest trade addition Stearns has added. Some may rank him as the worst.