NY Mets trade for Ryan Helsley has been less Hells Bells and more T.N.T.

Once is excusable. Twice is a coincidence. Three times in a row is a pattern. Ryan Helsley didn’t have the courtesy of coming out to Hells Bells in Milwaukee during his last two appearances versus the Brewers. Back at home on Thursday night, he had his chance to enter with his music blasting. For the third consecutive time, Helsley has been less Hells Bells and more T.N.T.

Both runs charged to Helsley were earned, something he hadn’t experienced much of despite some questionable outings. He came into this most recent outing with 4 unearned and only one charged to him. Not even the home run he gave up against William Contreras showed up on his ERA because of the error that came immediately prior; and I don’t mean the one on the umpires.

Helsley came to the Mets as the much-needed stopper to enter before Edwin Diaz. In 4 of his 6 appearances, a run has been scored against him.

Ryan Helsley was thunderstruck on the mound for the third straight appearance

Yet again, the blame doesn’t fall squarely on the pitcher who served up the hit. Juan Soto threw a lollipop back into the infield on the go-ahead run. He’d strike out in the bottom half of the inning.

This season with the St. Louis Cardinals, Helsley was already a little behind where he had been in past seasons. A 3.00 ERA wasn’t as scary as the 1.38 WHIP. A year removed from finishing 9th in the Cy Young race, Helsley is pitching his way into free agency to receive a pillow contract rather than a long-term commitment.

It hasn’t been an incredibly long trek for Helsley as one of the league’s best relievers. It clicked in 2022 and continued through the 2024 season. A much more average season is coming to a close for him, it’s feeling like the Mets may not have the gunslinger in the back of the bullpen they believed they were adding.

Until recently, the problem the Mets were experiencing was an inability to get the ball to the rebuilt bullpen with a lead. Since Milwaukee, the narrative has changed. The bullpen is now responsible for several losses, Helsley being one of the biggest culprits. When the biggest positive to come out of the relief corps is Justin Hagenman saving the bullpen by going multiple innings, you know things are ugly.