The offseason is really starting to ramp up, and even Orioles president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias has gotten in on the action leading up to the MLB Winter Meetings.
The closer role for the O’s in 2026 was a much-needed position to fill. Last week, Elias went out and made a great move to fill that hole by acquiring right-hander Ryan Helsely on a $14 million per year price tag. That is a whole lot of save potential on a team-friendly deal.
The Helsley seen in the second half of last year certainly is not the Helsley that Elias gave $14 million to. From 2022 through the trade deadline of 2025, Helsley didn’t finish any of those seasons with anything above a 3.00 ERA.
What excites me so much with the Helsley move isn’t even anything with himself, necessarily. Since signing Helsley, the New York Mets went ahead and locked up former New York Yankees beard policy killer Devin Williams to a three-year deal, averaging $17 million per year.
For $14 million, the Orioles have secured a guy who statistically has not been far off from Williams in the past. Much like Helsley’s second half, all season, Williams was pretty darn bad as a closer and still locked up $51 million.
On the flip side of that, with this deal for Helsley holding an opt-out after one season, the reliever market immediately skyrocketing like that almost ensures Helsley is only in Baltimore for a single season, unless Elias wants to follow up and match close to the Williams level deal after 2026.
Even if Helsley wins World Series MVP, I do not ever see Elias offering a deal that would keep a pending closer away from a free agent market as lucrative as it is. In a lot of senses, the O’s got lucky.
Elias’ biggest flaw, or at least one of them, has always been sitting on his hands for far too long and letting the market push him out of contention.
Finally, Elias was proactive by signing Helsley before the reliever market swelled. By being proactive, he really helped himself and gave himself monetary breathing room moving forward through the offseason.
This way, there is zero excuse not to offer a considerable amount of money to guys like Framber Valdez and Kyle Schwarber during the upcoming MLB Winter Meetings.
I said “and” for a reason, not one or the other. The Orioles can afford both, regardless of what anyone might tell you.
The Winter Meetings begin Sunday, and we will have to keep an eye peeled on social media for whatever Elias has planned to do. A couple of high-quality arms have become available via trade like Minnesota Twins righty Joe Ryan, as well as a crop of free agents who should be the first people Elias sits down with.
Will that actually happen? I do not know, and I will not get my hopes up.
However, I feel a little different about Elias’ intentions following a great signing like the Helsley.
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