Cardinals' Ryan Helsley caps off record breaking year with the highest of honors

As the dust settles on a frustrating year for the St. Louis Cardinals, one member of the organization continues to receive his flowers for a tremendous season.

Cardinals' closer Ryan Helsley was just named National League Reliever of the Year in what might be his final ride with the club. The Cardinals battled in far too many close games this year, placing even more value on the person locking down games, and Helsley delivered.

The 30-year-old closer set a franchise record with 49 saves in 2024, 14 more than he had in his entire big league career leading up to this season. That was in part due to the sheer number of save opportunities the Cardinals had this year, but also both sides' commitment to Helsley being reserved for save situations only this year. Helsey posted a 2.04 ERA in his 66.1 innings pitched, striking out 29.7% of the batters he faced and also winning nabbing 7 wins as well. He blew just four saves the entire season.

Helsley is expected to be moved this offseason by the Cardinals, and this end-of-season award should be even more reason that an opposing club should pay a hefty price to acquire him. Helsley was dominant this year but has been ever since he emerged as the Cardinals' closer in 2022. Since that season, Helsley has a 1.83 ERA and 82 saves, proving he's not just some flash in the pan.

An exciting development for Helsley this year has been the dominance of his slider, a pitch he used 48.3% of the time, more than his heater that can hit 103 MPH when he decides to. Any team acquiring Helsley should feel confident that he can lock down games. If the Cardinals don't get the offers they want this offseason, they can hang onto him and see if he can get them back to the postseason in 2025.

Their division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers, will likely shop their star closer Devin Williams as well this offseason. I would imagine that Helsley's dominant year and durability will allow the Cardinals to fetch more in return for his services than even Williams will garner.

On the American League side of things, Emmanuel Clase has a historic season, posting a 0.61 ERA while converting 47 of his 50 opportunities.

It's a bittersweet thing for Helsley to have been this successful in 2024. Normally the Cardinals would be gameplaning for how they can use a guy like Helsley to their advantage the next season as they look to contend once again, but the current trajectory of the club has them asking questions and shopping players that they do not normally consider. Helsley has been an excellent Cardinal, and although it is the right decision to trade him, it will be hard to see him go.

For today though, Cardinals fans can celebrate Helsley and the season he just had. It's surely one of the best in franchise history, and it will be a long time before we see another Helsley locking down games for this organization.