Less is more, at least in Helsley's case

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS – The most important and impactful non-personnel decision of this Cardinals season came not mid-game, with a pinch-hit call or a pitching change, but instead in a meeting room in Jupiter, Fla., in February.

Early in Spring Training, at the team’s offseason headquarters in Florida, manager Oliver Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake formulated a plan where closer Ryan Helsley would pitch just one inning per appearance in the season ahead. Availability had always been a big issue with Helsley, and understandably so when the club often asked him to get four and five outs in past seasons. Limiting Helsley to just one inning, the thought went, would make the closer both more available and more effective.

For Helsley, and the suddenly surging Cardinals – winners of five of six games – the decision was a game-changer. In effect, less of Helsley meant the Cardinals would be getting more in return.

“When they came to me and said that, I knew deep down that I needed to be available every day for the team,” he said. “If they’re going to give me that option to only throw three outs, I need to be available to throw a lot more than I’m not. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I think it’s helped.”

Has it ever helped.

When Helsley closed out the Cardinals' 4-1 defeat of the Braves on Wednesday night, it was Helsley’s club-record 28th consecutive save. He tied Alex Reyes for the club record on June 16 with his 24th straight save and then he set a new Cardinals mark on June 20 when he closed out the 6-5 win against the Giants, at Rickwood Field.

Remarkably, Helsley hasn’t blown a save since his first outing of the season – a game in which he ultimately got the victory – against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Since then, he’s been perfect in save opportunities, even though he’s had some hiccups and some trouble with fastball command in recent weeks.

Asked if he had been keeping every ball as a way to document the Cardinals history being made with each save, Helsley pointed to a drawer at the bottom of his locker. But as a sign as to how Helsley continued to live in the moment – and not off his laurels – the baseball collection comes with a caveat.

“I just kind of throw all of them in my cubby, so I don’t really know which one is which now,” said Helsley, whose ball from the record-setting save last week against the Giants is being memorialized by assistant athletic trainer/calligrapher Chris Conroy. “I’m just trying to win the game when I’m out there and I’m not really worrying about anything else.”

Limiting Helsley to one-inning outings has made the 29-year-old closer more productive than he’s been at any point in his career. With two more saves, Helsley will tie the 30 saves that Hall of Famer Lee Smith posted in 1993 before the MLB All-Star Game, a Cardinals record. He’s already blown well past his personal high of 19 saves, in 2022, the year he was an All-Star and a second-team All-MLB pitcher.

The biggest difference now is that Helsley hasn’t recorded more than three outs at any point this season – 36 outings and 36 innings pitched. He recorded more than three outs nine times in 51 outings and 47 1/3 innings in 2021, 18 times in 54 outings and 64 2/3 innings in 2022 and 11 times in 52 outings and 36 2/3 innings in an injury-marred (right forearm strain) 2023 season.

“Dusty [Blake] and I had several conversations around it [during the offseason], and then during Spring Training, we had a conversation with him, and obviously he was very open to it,” Marmol said. “I think it’s fair to him and it helps the club, so it checks both boxes.”

Saving Helsley for the ninth inning – where he’s pitched in 33 of his 36 outings – was made possible by the club vastly improving the depth of the bullpen in the offseason. Trading for veteran Andre Kittredge (22 holds) – also plucking Ryan Fernandez (six holds) out of the Rule 5 Draft and cultivating JoJo Romero (23 holds), John King and Chris Roycroft – has allowed the Cards to ask nothing more than three outs from Helsley.

“Having him for the ninth only has been great,” Marmol said. “Having him be a three-out closer has allowed him to be available more often, which is very helpful for us. What allows you to do that is having Kittredge or Romero for the seventh and eighth based on lane. They’re filling those gaps and you aren’t having to ask him to get four or five outs simply because you need it. There are other guys in that ‘pen now who can fill those other slots.”