The Orioles have been without closer Ryan Helsley for the past two weeks as he recovers from his second elbow injury of the season. Manager Craig Albernaz shed light on Helsley’s diagnosis before Saturday’s matchup against the Royals. The hard-throwing reliever has inflammation around his UCL, but the ligament isn’t torn, Albernaz told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASN. Helsley is expected to avoid surgery.
Baltimore inked Helsley to a two-year, $28MM deal over the winter. He was a perfect 7-for-7 in save chances through April, but hit the injured list with elbow inflammation to open May. Helsley returned to the club in mid-June, only to head back to the IL with renewed elbow discomfort in early July. The righty was ineffective between IL stints, allowing six runs (four earned) over 4 2/3 innings.
Despite the poor results, Helsley’s stuff looked intact during his five games in June. He sat at 98.7 mph with his fastball, which is exactly what it was in 12 games before the first IL stint. Helsley’s Stuff+ improved from 118 to 125 after his return. Both samples are relatively small, but Helsley didn’t seem any worse for wear after the initial elbow problem.
Injuries were a consistent theme early in Helsley’s career. He missed time with shoulder, elbow, and forearm issues over his first five seasons with the Cardinals. The reliever has been healthy over the past couple of years. He tossed a career-high 66 1/3 innings with St. Louis in 2024. Helsley led the majors with 49 saves that year. He made 58 appearances between the Cardinals and Mets last season.
The injury update for left-hander Keegan Akin wasn’t as positive. The reliever is dealing with a UCL injury and will visit Dr. Keith Meister next week for a second opinion, per Albernaz. Those appointments don’t typically end well. Akin went down with elbow discomfort at the end of June. Albernaz declined to say whether surgery was an option.
Akin opened the season on the injured list with a groin strain. He returned in late April and was pummeled for six earned runs in his first outing. Another six-run clunker hurt his overall numbers, but Akin has been serviceable outside of the two blowups. His 3.68 xERA is two runs lower than his actual mark.
Baltimore has relied on Grant Wolfram and Nick Raquet as the left-handed options in the bullpen without Akin. Rico Garcia, Tyler Wells, and Andrew Kittredge have taken turns as closer with Helsley out. All-star reliever Felix Bautista is working his way back from shoulder surgery. It’s unclear if he’ll pitch this season.
Photo courtesy Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
