Mets rebuild bullpen with trades for Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley
New York gave up six players for a pair of right-handed relievers who can become free agents in the fall, signaling Mets executives believe this year's team is at least capable of winning the franchise's first World Series championship since 1986.
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The busy New York Mets remade the back end of their injury-depleted bullpen with two significant trades Wednesday, acquiring Tyler Rogers from San Francisco and Ryan Helsley from St. Louis.
New York gave up six players for a pair of right-handed relievers who can become free agents in the fall, signaling Mets executives believe this year's team is at least capable of winning the franchise's first World Series championship since 1986.
First, the Mets obtained Rogers from the fading Giants for pitchers José Buttó and Blade Tidwell, along with minor league outfield prospect Drew Gilbert. Tidwell was at Triple-A Syracuse after making two starts and two relief appearances for New York this season.
The deal came on the same day Rogers' twin brother Taylor was also traded, from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh in the three-player swap that moved Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds.
Hours later, New York landed Helsley from the Cardinals for three minor leaguers: infielder Jesus Baez, right-hander Nate Dohm and right-hander Frank Elissalt.
The trades came five days after the Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto, a two-time All-Star, from Baltimore for two minor league pitchers. New York leads the NL East by a half-game over rival Philadelphia.
The 31-year-old Helsley, a two-time All-Star, is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves this season. He has struck out 41 batters and walked 14 in 36 innings.
Helsley led the majors with 49 saves in 2024 and won the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award. He is 31-15 with a 2.67 ERA and 105 saves in seven big league seasons — all with the Cardinals.
Tyler Rogers is 4-3 with a 1.80 ERA this season, using his drastic submarine delivery to great effect. The 34-year-old reliever has struck out 38 batters and walked only four in 50 innings, tying for the major league lead with 53 appearances.
“I like it. We got better as a team,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said in San Diego, referring only to Rogers, after a 5-0 loss to the Padres. “We just faced him the other day. He’s pretty tough on righties and lefties. He gives you a different look. He’s a guy that throws strikes. He can get righties and lefties. He’s pretty durable and he’s healthy and he takes the ball.”
Tyler Rogers should give Mendoza, in need of dependable bullpen options, another experienced arm to help set up All-Star closer Edwin Díaz.
“He allows me to have more flexibility, to match up, be more aggressive when I need to. He just makes our unit a lot deeper back there,” Mendoza said.
Tyler Rogers is 26-20 with a 2.79 ERA and 19 saves in seven major league seasons — all with the Giants.
New York will pay the remaining $1,693,548 of Rogers' $5.25 million salary this year and about $1.6 million more in luxury tax.
Buttó, 27, is 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA and one save in 34 relief outings this season. The right-hander also has experience as a starter.
“It’s a tough one there," Mendoza said. "Nothing but great things to say about him. His ability to take the ball — we used him in a lot of different roles. Great teammate, great human. Obviously, we’re going to miss him. But it’s the business. We all understand that. I think he’s going to help that team, too. He’s getting a great opportunity here, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to impact that team as well.”
The 24-year-old Tidwell made his major league debut May 4 and is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in the big leagues after giving up 15 earned runs in 15 innings.
Gilbert, 24, was batting .243 with 12 home runs and 47 RBIs in 82 games at Syracuse. He was selected 28th overall by Houston in the 2022 amateur draft from the University of Tennessee and has an .809 OPS in 276 career minor league games.
The left-handed hitter was acquired by the Mets in the trade that sent three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to the Astros on Aug. 1, 2023.
