Clase, Helsley named Relievers of the Year
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All season long, the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase and the Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley stood above their peers as the best closers in the game. The two were recognized for their excellence when they received the Reliever of the Year Award in their respective leagues at the All-MLB Awards show on Thursday.
For the second time in three years, Clase was named the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year. Helsley, meanwhile, earned Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year honors for the first time.
Clase and Helsley were the only two MLB relievers to reach the 40-save plateau in 2024. Clase led the AL with 47 saves in 50 chances, while Helsley topped the Major League leaderboard with 49 saves in 53 opportunities, setting a single-season record for a Cardinals closer.
While Clase ran into some trouble during the postseason, allowing eight runs in eight innings, he was historically dominant during the regular season.
The right-hander recorded a 0.61 ERA, tying him with Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley (1990) for the third-lowest mark in a single season (minimum 50 innings) behind Zack Britton (0.54 ERA in 2016) and Fernando Rodney (0.60 ERA in 2012).
Clase also had a miniscule 0.66 WHIP, allowing just 39 hits and 10 walks in 74 1/3 innings. Opponents had a .392 OPS against him.
The 26-year-old has been the gold standard among big league closers during his tenure with Cleveland, recording a 1.62 ERA with 157 saves -- 20 more than any other pitcher -- since the beginning of 2021. Clase is one of seven relievers to win multiple Reliever of the Year Awards since the current iteration of the award was established in 2014, joining Josh Hader (three), Craig Kimbrel (two), Edwin Díaz (two), Liam Hendriks (two), Kenley Jansen (two) and Devin Williams (two).
Clase’s blazing cutter remains the predominant pitch in his arsenal. In fact, he threw it more than ever last season (77.8% usage rate), holding batters to a .150 average while maxing out at 103 mph. According to Statcast’s run-value metric, Clase’s cutter (+23 runs prevented) was the third-most-valuable pitch in the Majors.
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Helsley can also light up the radar gun, but his slider actually overtook his four-seam fastball as his most-used pitch in 2024 (48.3%). Opponents posted a .171 batting average with a .195 slugging percentage against the pitch, collecting only three extra-base hits (no home runs) in 123 at-bats.
On the season, Helsley recorded a 2.04 ERA with 79 strikeouts over 66 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old has notched a 1.83 ERA with 82 saves since the beginning of 2022.