After the tight game against the Phillies on August 26, where they almost blew the 2 two-run lead in the eighth, manager Carlos Mendoza felt something was wrong with his 31-year-old reliever. So he said, “Too good of a stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, get really good takes on sliders…. For teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something is going on here. We have to figure it out,” about his pitcher’s problem, who had posted a 10.38 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP in 11 appearances during this time as a Met.

Mendoza indicated tipping pitches, and the struggling pitcher Ryan Helsley himself admitted, “I think I know how to fix it.” So, the organization worked hard for mechanical adjustments, but the result?

It never came; in fact, things only got worse. Helsley surrendered four earned runs on 6 hits in just 1.4 innings in his last three appearances since that promise.  He has blown all four of his save opportunities since the trade and has even managed a scoreless inning only five times in his 4 total appearances.

With the on-field fixes failing, a simpler explanation immediately gained traction: New York pressure. And when asked directly about this, Carlos Mendoza bluntly rejected that idea, saying, “I… I wouldn’t say in New York. You know, like these guys are closers… big league players are going to go through stretches where it’s hard. But I wouldn’t put it on like New York. This guy is built for it.” 

Though Mendoza rejected the idea, playing in New York brings a different kind of challenge. Just ask the crosstown rivals, the Yankees. Their closer, Devin Williams, who gave up 26 runs in his last 145 games in Milwaukee, allowed 24 runs in his first 46 appearances for the Yankees. Right now, he’s pitching with a 5.60 ERA, but at one point, his ERA was inflated to 11.25 with a sky-high 2.38 WHIP after just eight innings.

And Helsley himself wasn’t bad after all before the trade, when he went 3.00 ERA with 21 saves for the Cardinals. So, sometimes, the pressure is very, very real.

Can the Mets hold late-inning leads without their new setup man?

Without Helsley in high-leverage spots, the Mets leaned on Edwin Díaz as the closer, who posted a 1.87 ERA with 25 saves and a 13.75 K/9 rate this season. Tyler Rogers and Brooks Raley had to fill the role of primary setup man, and Rogers’ 2.20 ERA across 16 appearances, and Raley’s 2.20 ERA in 18 games, provided that stability.

And the Mets’ depth options also include reliable middle relief arms like Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazobán. Garrett holds a 3.61 ERA across 54 games, while Brazobán had a 3.91 ERA in 46 appearances.

Still, the bullpen carries risk, as the collective ERA sits at 4.00 this season, and Ryne Stanek has struggled with an ERA above five.

And thankfully, the Mets have a solid 4-game cushion over the nearest teams chasing them for the final position of the wild-card race. And in the division, they hold the second position in the NL West, trailing the Phillies by about 5.5 games with a 75-65 record. But their upcoming series with the Red will be crucial for their final wild-card run, and at this point, Helsley’s collapse has become a central storyline in the Mets’ September sprint to October.