The Orioles announced that right-hander Ryan Helsley placed on the 15-day injured list, resuming until April 29, with right elbow swelling. Friend is right Albert Suárez was selected to replace Helsley on the active roster. The 40-man roster had a few vacancies and the addition of Suárez brings the O’s to 39 players there.
It’s a no-nonsense IL job for Helsley, as there was no previous indication that anything was amiss. He last pitched Tuesday, recording a clean inning and earning the save as the O’s beat the Astros 5-3. His fastball averaged 99.3 miles per hour, close to his season average and a slight increase over his previous two outings. He hasn’t scored in the last two days but Baltimore hasn’t wasted any chances yet. Wednesday’s game has been postponed. Both games in yesterday’s doubleheader were not close, one was decided by six runs and the other by seven.
The club will probably have more experience over time but it’s always scary when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is involved in an injury. For the O’s, they will have to figure out how to continue hitting their other bullpen. Their previous closeness, Felix Bautistahe underwent shoulder surgery in August last year. That process took about a year. He could return as late as 2026 but could also miss the rest of the season, which is why Helsley was signed to fill the closer’s spot.
The O’s have them too Dietrich Enns again Yaramil Hiraldo in IL, meaning Helsey is now the fourth release on the shelf. Boys love it Andrew Kittredge, Rico Garcia, Anthony Nunez or Grant Wolfram he can rise to occupy the highest roles.
For Helsley personally, it would be a difficult development as well. Not too long ago, he was one of the top rebounders in the game and was destined to earn money as a free agent. Unfortunately, he had the wrong time to work in 2025, his departure year. His earned run average reached 4.50 after hovering around 2.00 the previous three seasons.
He signed a two-year, $28MM deal with the Orioles, a deal that included an opt-out. That would give Baltimore a replacement for Bautista in the closer role. For Helsley, ideally, he would return to form and return to free agency in search of a longer deal and a bigger guarantee.
The results have been great so far, with 10 2/3 innings. His 15.2% walk rate is very high but his 32.6% strikeout rate is a nice return after it dropped to 25% last year. Obviously, a major elbow injury can kill that program, so hopefully this will be a minor setback and a footnote in the end of his season.
Suárez, 36, began the season with the O’s on a minor league deal. His contract was decided a few days before the start of the season. He spent about a month in the bullpen as a long reliever, throwing 13 innings in five appearances with a 3.46 ERA.
Despite those strong results, he was delisted a few days ago. He cleared waivers and opted into free agency on Wednesday. At the time it was reported that he and the O’s might be working on a new league deal. According to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, his new league deal was approved a few hours ago. He initially joined the Norfolk Tides in Nashville before being reassigned to the big leagues in place of Helsley.
Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images
