After a rough inning of work on Monday that saw St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley allow two runs (one earned), the right-hander bounced back with a perfect inning on Tuesday to secure his fourth save of the season. Helsley now has tossed seven innings with seven strikeouts and one walk on the season. The 29-year-old is fully entrenched as the club's closer, but fantasy managers in holds leagues or those looking to have insurance on Helsley should consider Giovanny Gallegos or Andrew Kittredge. As it stands, Helsley remains one of the most trusted closers in all formats.

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley allowed one hit over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins. Helsley entered the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. The 29-year-old needed just six pitches to make quick work of the Marlins to collect his third save of the season. He owns a 3.60 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 5:0 K: BB across five innings in 2024. The Cardinals right-hander has been terrific recently and has not allowed a run over his last three appearances. Helsley is the Cardinals' primary closer, and fantasy managers should continue to start Helsey in all fantasy leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley threw a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Miami Marlins. Helsley didn't allow a baserunner and struck out one. Maybe most importantly for Helsley, the velocity on his four-seamer was back up to 99.6 after being down a little bit from last season in his last few appearances. He should be back to his dominant self if he can keep the velocity up, and seems to be the clear-cut closer in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley earned his first save of the season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Padres. Helsley came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by three. He allowed a leadoff single but got two strikeouts and a pop-out to end the game. The 29-year-old has now turned in two consecutive clean innings after a rough first outing, bringing his ERA to 6.00 with four strikeouts in three innings of work. Fantasy managers should keep an eye out for any further developments, as Giovanny Gallegos has closing experience, but Helsley should be the first choice for save opportunities as long as he continues to trend in the right direction.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley blew a save opportunity in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Dodgers. Helsley came on in the bottom of the ninth with the Cardinals up 5-3, but the 29-year-old allowed a home run to Mookie Betts and, after getting Shohei Ohtani to strike out, three straight singles to knot the game at five runs apiece. It was the first regular season appearance in 2024 for Helsley, so certainly not the way he wanted to get things started, but there should be brighter days ahead for the Cards' closer. The righty had a 2.45 ERA and saved 14 games for St. Louis last season and should be a top option at closer in fantasy leagues in 2024. It's worth noting that Giovanny Gallegos picked up the save in the tenth inning and would presumably be in line for the role if Helsley continued to falter.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley has tossed two scoreless outings over his first two Grapefruit League appearances this spring. He has also recorded three strikeouts. Helsley is coming off of another strong season as the Cardinals closer and remains the top option for saves in St. Louis. Entering 2024, the fireballer remains one of the safest options for managers seeking saves with Top-10 upside at his position.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley earned his 14th save of the year Sunday against the Reds. Helsley shut the Reds down in the ninth inning as he worked a scoreless inning while holding on to a run-one lead. The inning wasn't pretty, as he gave up a single and a double. However, the 29-year-old settled down and closed the season out for St. Louis. The right-hander ends the season with a 3-4 record and a 2.44 ERA in over 36 innings pitched.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley picked up his 13th save of the season in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Brewers. Helsley entered the game to pitch the bottom of the ninth up by three and struck out the side to shut the door. While the 29-year-old did miss a portion of the season with a right forearm strain, he has pitched well overall this season, converting 13 of 18 save opportunities with a 2.52 ERA, a 12.62 K/9 rate, and a 4.29 BB/9 rate. Hopefully, he will be able to stay healthy and solidify his role in 2024.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley picked up his 12th save of the season in Monday's 1-0 win over the Brewers. Helsley came in to pitch the top of the ninth up by one and turned in a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. The 29-year-old has returned to form since rejoining the team in September and now has a 2.43 ERA and 12.15 K/9 rate over 33 1/3 innings pitched this season. Helsley should be a solid fantasy contributor down the stretch.

St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher Ryan Helsley converted his 11th save of the season on Sunday, shutting the door on the Philadelphia Phillies in a 6-5 win. Helsley made things interesting by allowing a walk and a hit, but he escaped without allowing any damage. He also struck out a pair in his inning of work. Helsley still hasn't allowed an earned run since his return from injury on September 1, a stretch that includes 7 IP. He also has the Cardinals' last four saves and appears to be firmly in control of the closer role that he had before his injury. He could fall in drafts next year because of his lack of saves this year, but he will likely be the closer in St. Louis if he stays with the team and could be a bounceback candidate.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley picked up his ninth save of the season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Orioles. Helsley came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth up by three and delivered a 1-2-3 inning with no strikeouts. The 29-year-old missed a chunk of the season due to a right forearm strain but has pitched well when healthy, converting nine of 13 save opportunities with a 2.70 ERA, an 11.70 K/9 rate, and a 3.90 BB/9 rate. The Cardinals have been disappointing as a whole this season, but Helsley is still a worthwhile fantasy option in all leagues down the stretch.

The St. Louis Cardinals activated relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (forearm) from the 60-day injured list on Friday and moved infielder Brendan Donovan (elbow) to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Helsley has been away from the team since the middle of June with a right-forearm strain and didn't exactly pitch well during his minor-league rehab assignment. Fantasy managers in need of saves should pick Helsley up if he's available on the waiver wire, but don't be surprised if the Cardinals ease him into high-leverage situations in the final month of the regular season. In his absence, both JoJo Romero and Giovanny Gallegos have seen save chances, with Romero becoming the primary option of late.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley (forearm) and outfielder Lars Nootbaar (groin) are expected to be activated from the injured list by Friday when major-league rosters expand, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Helsley, who hasn't pitched in the majors since June 7, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. Don't be surprised if the Cards ease the 29-year-old Helsley back into the closer's role after a long layoff from a right-forearm strain. JoJo Romero has been the team's primary closer of late with Helsley out of commission. Nootbaar is starting a minor-league rehab assignment on Wednesday and should be back with the team this weekend. When the 25-year-old is back, he'll likely return to starting center-field duties in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley (forearm) said that if all goes well on Monday and Tuesday, he will likely be activated from the 60-day injured list on Wednesday. Helsley said one plan calls for him to return on a regimented schedule instead of being available daily. Pitching clean innings on a planned day is a possibility as well. The 29-year-old right-hander had a setback with his forearm during a minor-league rehab outing for Double-A Springfield on Aug. 18, but he has since returned to the mound in the minors and allowed two runs in an inning of work on Sunday. Helsley is going to be eased back into high-leverage situations, but he did secure seven saves in 11 chances earlier this year before his injury. In his absence, Giovanny Gallegos and JoJo Romero have been sharing the closing duties in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (forearm), who underwent a second round of MRI exams this week on his right forearm, has been cleared to resume a minor-league rehab assignment. Helsley will make another rehab appearance on Friday for Triple-A Memphis, according to manager Oliver Marmol. The 29-year-old was pulled off his rehab assignment on Wednesday with renewed discomfort in his right forearm, but the MRI exams obviously didn't show anything concerning. If he can avoid any further setbacks, Helsley could return to the Cardinals' closing role before the end of August. Until then, Giovanny Gallegos and JoJo Romero will likely continue to share closing duties at the back end of St. Louis' bullpen. Helsley had a 3.24 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, seven saves and 33 strikeouts in 25 innings before his injury.

St. Louis Cardinals right-handed reliever Ryan Helsley's (forearm) next minor-league rehab outing has been pushed back from Wednesday due to soreness, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Helsley has been out since early June with forearm pain. This is a setback, but it remains to be seen how serious it is. The 29-year-old has been out since June 12 with a right-forearm strain. Once he's able to return to St. Louis' bullpen, it's expected that he will retake the primary closing duties, so Helsley is worth stashing if you're in need of saves the rest of the way. In his absence, Giovanny Gallegos and JoJo Romero have been sharing save duties for the Cardinals of late. Before his injury, Helsley had a 3.24 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, seven saves and 33 strikeouts in 25 relief innings.

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley (forearm) made a minor-league rehab appearance for Double-A Springfield on Sunday and tossed a scoreless inning while giving up one hit, walking none and striking out one to earn a hold. He threw 14 of his 19 pitches for strikes in an encouraging outing in his first rehab appearance since injuring his right forearm in mid-August. Barring a setback on his rehab assignment, Helsley should be able to return later this week as St. Louis' primary closer. If you are still in need of saves and Helsley was dropped due to his injury, you'll want to scoop the 29-year-old right-hander up immediately. Giovanny Gallegos will go back to a setup role in the Cardinals bullpen once Helsley is activated.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (forearm) will start a minor-league rehab assignment on Sunday for Double-A Springfield, according to a source. Helsley is getting very close to returning to St. Louis' bullpen after being placed on the injured list in the middle of June with a right-forearm strain. There's a good chance he'll be back with the Cards when he's eligible to come off the IL on Aug. 10, so fantasy managers should scoop him up off the waiver wire if he's available in your league and you could use some saves. The 29-year-old right-hander has 26 saves in the last two seasons and should take over primary closing duties from Giovanny Gallegos when he's back with the big-league squad.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (forearm) threw a successful 20-pitch bullpen session at Busch Stadium on Wednesday at the velocity the team expected, according to manager Oliver Marmol. If Helsley recovers well on Thursday, a minor-league rehab assignment could come as soon as this weekend. It means that the 29-year-old could return to the Cardinals bullpen as early as next week, barring any setbacks. Until he's back from the 60-day injured list, Giovanny Gallegos should remain the favorite for save chances, especially now that Jordan Hicks is in Toronto. Helsley should be the primary closer once he's back with St. Louis and fully healthy, so fantasy managers in need of some saves down the stretch may want to consider adding him now off the waiver wire if he's available.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (forearm) is scheduled to toss a bullpen session on Saturday. The 29-year-old has resided on the injured list since June 12 with a right forearm strain, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. Helsley was redirected to the 60-day IL earlier this week, so he can't return until mid-August at the earliest. The flame-throwing right-hander should assume closing duties upon his return, especially if St. Louis deals away interim stopper Jordan Hicks by the deadline. Some restless fantasy managers in shallow leagues may have let go of Helsley along the way. However, his 3.24 ERA (2.17 xERA) and 32% strikeout rate over 25 innings this year are too mouthwatering to be left hanging around any waiver wires.