Tigers can learn a lesson from the NY Mets before making a free agency mistake

One of the handful of New York Mets players who hit free agency at the end of the 2025 season was reliever Ryan Helsley. The Mets acquired him at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he struggled badly down the line. Still, his stuff and previous work should make him a commodity for many teams looking for relief help, but the Detroit Tigers have other ideas. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Cody Stavenhagen, and Katie Woo, the Tigers are one of the reported teams looking at Helsley as a starting pitcher. However, before the Tigers (or any team looking at him as a SP option) commit to signing Helsley as a starter, they should learn a lesson from the Mets.

The Mets attempted something similar last season with right-hander Clay Holmes. Holmes had served as the crosstown rival New York Yankees’ closer the previous three seasons, but the Mets brought him in as a starting pitcher. Holmes had previously been a starting pitching prospect, but he had only had four MLB starts to his name heading into 2025. At first, it looked like the Mets may have made a fantastic decision moving Holmes to the rotation. By the end of June, he owned a 2.97 ERA, with a 20.4% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate, and a HR/9 ratio of 1.02 with an 8.3% barrel percentage through 88 innings. 

However, the significantly increased workload that Holmes wasn’t used to began taking its toll during the second half of the season. From the start of July onward, Holmes owned a 4.17 ERA, struck out only 15.9% of batters faced, while maintaining an unimpressive 9.1% walk rate. Holmes became less home run-prone, with a 0.46 HR/9 ratio and 5.3% barrel rate; however, this is about the only two stats he improved upon after a strong start to the 2025 season.

The Tigers need to take some notes from the NY Mets and Clay Holmes before attempting something similar with Ryan Helsley.

This was after Holmes became one of baseball’s dominant closing pitchers and was coming off a strong 2024 season. He tossed 63 innings while working to a 3.14 ERA, 3.02 FIP, and 1.30 WHIP. He struck out about a quarter of opponents with a 25.1% K%, with a respectable 8.1% walk rate. Holmes has always been a ground ball specialist, and 2024 was no different, with a GB% of 65%. The right-hander also had a 2.70 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 26.1% K%, and 8.2% BB% in 2022-2023.

Meanwhile, Helsley is coming off a very poor 2025, with a 4.50 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and 1.54 WHIP over 56 innings with the Cardinals and Mets. He struck out 25% of batters he faced, with a 9.9% walk rate, and a 1.29 HR/9 ratio. Sure, most of his struggles in 2025 came with the Mets. He allowed 16 earned runs on 25 hits, including four home runs, and 11 walks after the trade, but it’s not as if he was his usual dominant self with the Cardinals either.

Prior to the trade, Helsley owned a 3.00 ERA with a 3.55 FIP, 26.1% K%, 8.9% walk rate, and 1.00 HR/9 ratio. While those are solid numbers, they’re poor once you see the 1.83 ERA, 2.35 FIP, along with the 34.6% strikeout rate, 9.2% BB%, and 0.54 HR/9 ratio he had from his 2022 breakout campaign through the 2024 season. 

Holmes’s stuff also works better as a starting pitcher than Helsley’s stuff. Holmes is primarily a sinkerballer who gets a ton of ground balls and uses his slider and sweeper to get his strikeouts out of the bullpen. He also displayed good control over his offerings. Helsley uses his overpowering, 99-100 MPH fastball and wipeout slider to make up for his lack of above-average command. He’ll occasionally mix in a curveball as well, which rounds out his pitch arsenal.

If moving Holmes to the rotation wasn’t a full-on success, who was coming off a much better season than Helsley is now, and had repertoire and approach to pitching that could give him a better chance of sticking in the rotation, chances are it won’t work out well for the Tigers and moving Helsley to the rotation. They, along with any other team looking to move Helsley into the rotation, need to think twice before doing so, and take notes from the Mets and their attempt to do something similar in 2025.