Mets acquire Giants submariner Tyler Rogers, Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley to help fortify bullpen
St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, left, and San Francisco Giants closer Tyler Rogers. Credit: AP
SAN DIEGO – About a week and a half ago, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was asked about the splashy move – the sort of trade deadline maneuvering that sends the baseball ecosphere into a tizzy.
The team was plenty good then, but with some pretty stark deficiencies, especially when it came to its relief corps, but “I don’t know how many big, splash players are actually being traded this deadline,” he said.
On Wednesday, the answer was: enough to give the Mets what may be one of the most potent back-end bullpens in baseball.
A day before baseball’s trade deadline, Stearns acquired both finesse and power, wresting fire-throwing righty Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals, and snagging Tyler Rogers, an understated but devastating submariner with one of the best sinkers in the game, from the Giants, the team announced. The duo join power lefty Gregory Soto, who was acquired from the Orioles last week.
“We got better as a team,” said manager Carlos Mendoza – and that was even before the Helsley trade. “When we’re facing some of the best teams with good bullpens, they’ve got a lot of different looks and this adds to it. We’ve got two lefties [in Brooks Raley and Soto] with different pitch mixes. We’ve got a lot of righties. And now we’re talking about a guy [Rogers] that goes from that [submarine] angle that can get either hand out.”
The pitchers came at a high price, at least in terms of bodies and team control.
In return for Rogers, 34, a rental on a $3.2 million contract, the Mets parted ways with righty reliever Jose Butto, No. 10 prospect Blade Tidwell, and No. 12 prospect Drew Gilbert, both in Triple-A and nearly major-league ready. Butto, 27, had a 3.64 ERA in 34 games, is pre-arbitration eligible for the next two years, and is under team control through 2030.
Helsley, 31, also a free agent next year, came at the price of three minor leaguers, all players with High-A Brooklyn: infielder Jesus Baez (ranked eighth), righty Nate Dohm (ranked 14th), and righty Frank Elissalt (unranked). Baez and Dohm aren’t believed to be major-league ready until 2027.
Butto was spotted hugging his teammates in the centerfield bullpen during the Mets' 5-0 loss to the Padres before departing for the dugout, where he hugged the rest of the team; he’s been with the organization since being signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela at age 19.
Rogers is a veritable workhorse, leading the league with 53 appearances; he doesn’t throw particularly hard – his sinker averages 83.3 mph and his slider clocks in at 74 mph – but that likely adds to his durability. He’s also deathly effective: a 1.80 ERA over 50 innings, with only four walks and 38 strikeouts. He’s given up three homers all year.
His submarine delivery makes that sinker incredibly hard to hit – a 13-run value, according to Baseball Savant; it drops 53 inches, compared to the major-league average of 24 inches. His release point is a mere 1.4 feet off the ground.
“It’s something unique, a unicorn in the game because you don’t really see that,” Francisco Lindor said. “It’s not easy. It’s tough to track. From experience, he’s gotten me a couple of times and I think he’s going to help us.”
And that's because, most of the time, hitters simply can’t make good contact against Rogers, barreling only 2.1% of his pitches this year, third in MLB. He’s also a ground ball machine: His 64.4% ground-ball rate is in the 99th percentile and fifth in the majors. Since 2020, he leads baseball with 375 appearances, 379 relief innings, and 138 holds. His 143 career holds are a Giants' franchise record.
Helsley throws pure gas, and strikes opponents out plenty, though he’s struggled with his control. He has a 3.00 ERA in 36 innings, with 41 strikeouts, 14 walks and 21 saves over 36 games this year, and primarily throws a fastball that averages 99.3 mph, and a wipeout slider that clocks in at 88.9 mph; he has a 44.3% strikeout percentage on the breaking ball. He also led the league in saves last season with 49 and was named the Trevor Hoffman National League reliever of the year.
Those two will complement Edwin Diaz, who has 23 saves and a 1.48 ERA.
Of the prospects tendered, only Tidwell, 24, had major-league experience, showing flashes of promise (and need of further development) in four appearances this year. The big righthander had a 4.10 ERA in 17 games with Triple-A Syracuse, with 87 strikeouts and 32 walks. Gilbert, 24, was slashing .246/.349/.435 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs in 81 games, and a two-home run, four-RBI night last week made him a feasible outfield call-up in centerfield, which has been a position of need for the Mets.
But the new high-leverage arms will spell a heavily-taxed bullpen during this stretch run. Going into Wednesday’s game, relievers had thrown 414 1/3 innings, seventh-most in baseball, while starters had tossed 543 2/3 innings, which was 25th.
“He’s pretty durable,” Mendoza said of Rogers. “He’s been healthy and he takes the ball.”
Added Francisco Alvarez, who faced him earlier this week, via interpreter: “Thank God he’s now on our side and we don’t have to face him anymore.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
