Ryan Helsley's Orioles Deal Makes D-backs Offseason even Tougher

The Arizona Diamondbacks are going to have quite the uphill battle this offseason.

Sep 12, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The 2025 MLB offseason is beginning to heat up, but not for the Arizona Diamondbacks — yet.

On Saturday, reports surfaced that right-handed closer Ryan Helsley has signed with the Baltimore Orioles, inking a two-year deal worth $28 million to join Baltimore's bullpen.

Helsley is coming off a brutal 2025 season, but still managed to cash in on a lucrative deal.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, are in desperate need of an arm of Helsley's caliber. With an injury-ridden and thin group of relievers, Arizona needs to find a closer and at least one other reliable leverage arm.

Helsley's deal will make that endeavor that much harder, for a variety of reasons.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Relief Search Gets Tougher After Helsley Deal

Jul 25, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Helsley's 2025 season was beyond ugly. After a successful start to the year with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was traded to the New York Mets at the Deadline, where he was nothing short of disastrous.

Helsley pitched to a 7.20 ERA with the Mets in 22 appearances. He allowed 11 walks and 20 runs (16 earned) over just 20 innings of work in Queens, while blowing all four of the save opportunities he was given.

Granted, Helsley has a track record of being one of the most unhittable closers in the game, but bringing in $28 million after a season that poor will only further inflate the market for relief arms — especially for those who had a less-disastrous 2025.

The D-backs have limited payroll to work with, as the overall financial commitment is expected to take a step back in the 2026 season. Not only is one potential "buy-low" target in Helsley off the board, but the price for quality relief continues to become inflated.

Helsley's deal will be worth an average of $14 million per year. This comes not long after the Atlanta Braves signed closer Raisel Iglesias to a one-year, $16 million deal.

Iglesias' season was significantly better than Helsley's for only a slightly higher payday. With that in mind, the impact of Helsley's contract is less pertinent to the best-of-the-best available closers, but greatly lowers the floor of any deal for a reliever that may be coming off a down season.

Related Content: How Raisel Iglesias' New Braves Contract Could Hurt the D-backs

Of course, Helsley has been one of the best closers in the game for multiple years prior to his down 2025. But the Diamondbacks' offseason will only get tougher from here.

While Arizona is expected to explore the trade market to fill some of their needs, it's going to be tough to muster enough prospect and major league capital to land solid starting pitching, reliable leverage relievers and a first baseman.

To some degree, the free agent market will have to be tested by GM Mike Hazen, but as these deals continue to roll out, the more it becomes clear Hazen won't be able to land a free agent arm without significant financial investment.