Mets create monster bullpen with additions of Helsley, Rogers

In the span of just a few hours, on the eve of the trade deadline, the New York Mets completely rebuilt their bullpen.

Early Wednesday afternoon, the Mets struck a deal with the San Francisco Giants to acquire veteran reliever Tyler Rogers, before picking up fireballing closer Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals.

With the two moves, New York has upgraded their bullpen in a major way following their trade for Gregory Soto last week and responding to the Phillies’ acquisition of Jhoan Duran.

Now, manager Carlos Mendoza has no shortage of weapons in the late innings, with Helsley and Rogers joining Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett, Soto, Brooks Raley, and Ryne Stanek.

In exchange for Rogers, the Mets sent RHP Jose Butto, as well as prospects OF Drew Gilbert and RHP Blade Tidwell, to San Francisco. Then, New York shipped a trio of prospects to St. Louis: SS Jesus Baez, RHP Nate Dohm, and RHP Frank Elissalt. 

What are the Mets getting for their bullpen?

Helsley is the biggest move that President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has made since the offseason, as the two-time All-Star led MLB in saves last season (49).

His claim to fame is his blazing fastball, which is routinely among the hardest in the game,  averaging 99.3 mph on the radar gun. This, coupled with a slider that has created a 45.6% whiff rate in 2025, has helped Helsley pitch to a 3.00 ERA. Overall, his 34.3% chase rate ranks in the 94th percentile leaguewide. 

This season, Helsley has not gotten the mileage out of his fastball that he typically does. Opponents are batting .406 against his heater, but just .092 against his slider. He uses those two pitches over 90% of the time, but also will mix in a curveball and cutter. 

Since the start of 2022, Helsley has gone 103-for-121 (85%) in saves. His 103 saves rank fifth in baseball over that timeframe. In that span, the 30-year-old has posted at least 10 strikeouts per nine innings in each season.

The move signals the Mets’ push for a World Series this year. Helsley is due to hit the open market at the end of the season and will likely look to play somewhere where he can be the closer. As long as Diaz is in Queens, Helsley will be the set-up man to Diaz, who has a player option after 2025. 

Rogers is a strong weapon in his own right. The 34-year-old submarining reliever has become one of the most consistent relievers in the game. Across his seven-year career, Rogers owns an ERA of 2.79 and has a rubber arm. Due to his -60º arm angle, Rogers’ pitches seem to rise, creating an illusion that is difficult for hitters to pick up.

His unorthodox delivery gives Rogers the ability to miss barrels while not lighting up the radar gun. At just 83.3 mph, his average fastball velocity ranks in the 1st percentile, while his 2.1% barrel rate is in the 100th percentile.

Rogers has led the league in appearances three times and is on track to do the same this year, already entering 53 games this season. He is always around the plate, as maybe the most important stat is his four walks in 50 innings of the year. 

Additionally, he has allowed just three longballs, helping him produce an ERA of 1.80. 

Between Helsley’s high velocity and Rogers’ unorthodox stuff, the two additions will give New York a couple of differing looks to what they already have at the back of games.

On a team that has struggled to get much consistency from their bullpen outside of their closer, Stearns and Co. have now built a strong bridge to Diaz.

What the Mets gave up to bolster their relief corps

The market for relievers is not cheap. The Phillies parted ways with a borderline top-50 prospect in the game to get Duran, and while the Cardinals’ asking price for Helsley was not as steep (likely due to the lack of control beyond 2025), New York still had to give up six pieces to get the two deals done.

As far as the trade with St. Louis, Jesus Baez is the centerpiece, as Just Baseball placed him at No. 6 in the Mets organization before the season. Although, to be fair, with the Mets featuring six prospects on our current Top 100, it is fair to assume Baez would have slipped much lower than that on the next update of our top 15 Mets prospects.

Baez, who plays both third base and shortstop, has posted just a .722 OPS in 75 minor league games this season between two levels. He is a solid all-around infielder, with a skillset that profiles more as a third baseman.

After him, Nate Dohm was drafted by the Mets in the third round last year and was having a lot of success in High-A Brooklyn. In 18 games (17 starts), Dohm has a 2.87 ERA and has struck out 77 batters in 62 ⅔ innings. Finally, Elissalt was unranked by both Just Baseball and MLB Pipeline, but has also pitched well in 2025.

The 23-year-old Miami native has a 3.06 ERA in 56 ⅓ innings as primarily a reliever. Elissalt was drafted in the 19th round last year, making this a real credit to the Mets’ player development for Elissalt to be traded a year later.

For New York, they get one of the premier late-inning arms, without parting ways with one of their highly coveted top-five prospects. St. Louis is still getting strong upside in return for Helsley, who was most likely not in their future plans anyway. 

The return for Rogers is a much more interesting one. 

Buttó had been a fixture in the Mets’ bullpen since the beginning of 2024, after serving as a spot starter over his first two MLB seasons. However, recent struggles with command and the Mets’ eyeing other bullpen pieces had seemingly made him expendable. 

Over the past two years, Buttó pitched 121 innings across 64 games to a 2.98 ERA. This year, his strikeout rate has plummeted from 9.6 per nine innings to 7.9. Most recently, Buttó allowed five runs in 1 ⅔ innings in the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Padres on Tuesday night.

The move allows him a change of scenery and potentially the opportunity to return to a starting pitcher role should the Giants want to explore that option. 

Gilbert and Tidwell were both top-15 prospects in New York’s system, but have failed to show the potential to be serious difference makers at the big league level. 

Gilbert, who was part of the return for Justin Verlander at the 2023 deadline, has struggled with injuries and underperformance. 

A first-round draft pick out of Tennessee by the Astros in 2022, Gilbert played just 21 games last season, hitting .208. This year, his numbers have come up as he is playing a full season in Triple-A (14 home runs, .811 OPS), but at nearly 25 years old, he has not displayed the potential to be much more than a fourth outfielder.

Just Baseball had Gilbert at No. 9 in the Mets’ preseason prospect rankings. Nonetheless, he was likely the third-best outfielder at best in New York’s organization.

As for Tidwell, he was ranked at No. 14 before the year and made it to the big leagues earlier this season. In four games (two starts) at the major league level, Tidwell has allowed 15 runs in 15 innings and walked 10 batters. Additionally, his 4.10 ERA in Triple-A does not blow anyone away. 

It is not to say that he and Gilbert won’t be solid major league pieces, but their play in 2025 has not given the Mets any reason to hold onto them with the same might as Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, or Carson Benge. 

The two former Volunteers are now on their way out of New York, along with Buttó and a trio of others, as the Mets have completely revamped their bullpen, gearing up for a World Series push.