Tigers Rumors: New closer option cheaper than Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams emerges

It's no secret that the Detroit Tigers need to add late-inning, swing-and-miss relievers to their bullpen this offseason. Nor is it a secret that the top such relievers on the free agent market –– Edwin Díaz and Devin Williams –– are well out of their price range.

The Tigers aren't winning a bidding war with large-market teams to land Díaz or Williams on a massive, multi-year contract. What they can do, however, is sign a bounce-back candidate like Ryan Helsley to a one-year deal.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press recently identified Helsley as a free agent arm who fits the Tigers' "obsession with low-risk, high-upside moves." The right-hander is coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw his ERA balloon up to 7.60 following a deadline trade to the New York Mets, but his career 2.96 ERA over seven Major League seasons suggests that his stat line during his brief tenure in Queens was the outlier.

Indeed, Helsley is almost too on-brand a fit for the Tigers right now — the perfect blend of upside, affordability, and roster logic. He's a bona fide elite closer without the Díaz/Williams price tag, and he gives Detroit a true high-leverage anchor in a competitive window.

Ryan Helsley would give Tigers premium high-leverage relief without premium pricing

Detroit desperately needs late-inning swing-and-miss, and Helsley has one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios among high-leverage relievers. He provides consistent top-tier run prevention when healthy, and he has proven playoff mettle from his time with the St. Louis Cardinals.

But unlike Díaz and Williams — who would command massive multi-year deals in the $18-20 million AAV range — Helsley is likely to sign a two- or three-year deal at a significantly lower AAV ($12-14 million). That fits the Tigers’ financial blueprint of investing in impact pitching without tying up resources that could potentially go toward a Tarik Skubal extension.

The 2025 Tigers bullpen was erratic because they lacked exactly what Helsley provides: a stopper who shortens games and prevents cascading bullpen burnouts. Adding Helsley turns the bullpen from “scrappy and unpredictable” to “structured and layered.” Suddenly, "pitching chaos" looks like a thing of the past.

The Tigers aren’t rebuilding anymore. They’re entering a 2025–27 push with Skubal in his prime, Riley Greene entering his peak years, and Kevin McGonigle rising fast. In other words, they’re getting good — quickly. Teams in that tier need a closer who can actually slam doors and swing a few extra wins.

Helsley is one of the only elite closers available who doesn't cost draft pick compensation or require a five-year megadeal. He won't blow up the payroll structure or block flexibility for other moves. Heck, he might even be flippable in a pinch if things go sideways. In other words, he is exactly the kind of "win-now but financially sensible" move that Scott Harris loves to make.

Helsley has had durability questions, but the Tigers don’t need him for 70 games; they just need him to be at his best when he's available. His injury history is already priced into his market, and a risk-discounted elite closer is precisely the lane in which Detroit should shop. Helsley is a luxury the Tigers can afford, but not a franchise-altering overcommitment.

The bottom line? Helsley gives the Tigers the Díaz/Williams skillset without the Díaz/Williams price tag. He's an elite closer, a playoff-tested power arm and a high-upside, medium-risk signing. He's a perfect complement to Detroit's current bullpen, and signing him would be a financially smart use of the Tigers' temporary payroll space.

But most importantly, Helsley immediately raises the Tigers’ 2026 playoff ceiling without compromising their 2027–2030 core-building plan. If Detroit is serious about stabilizing the back end of games — and signaling they’re done half-measuring — Helsley is the exact type of free-agent move that shows it.