A disappointing first season with the Orioles is keeping Ryan Helsley in Baltimore.

Helsley is exercising the $14 million player option on his contract that he signed on Dec. 1, according to a source.

This was the anticipated outcome with Helsley after he appeared in only 17 games and made two stops on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.

Helsley was paid $14 million this season while posting a 4.11 ERA and 1.435 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings. He recorded eight saves and didn’t pitch after June 27.

Five appearances followed Helsley’s reinstatement from the IL, when he missed about six weeks. He warmed in the eighth inning of a July 1 game but sat down and began flexing his right hand and rubbing his elbow.

A long recovery period ensued, but Helsley, 32, worked his way back to a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk. It lasted only one game, on Sept. 12 in Memphis. The Orioles shut him down again, and he never made it onto the expanded roster.

The two-time All-Star led the majors with 49 saves with the Cardinals in 2024. Similar success with the Orioles likely would have sent Helsley back into free agency with a chance at a bigger payday, but he’s got to reestablish his value in 2027.

In the meantime, the Orioles can benefit from having Helsley join Félix Bautista in the back end of the bullpen. Bautista made two September appearances after recovering from shoulder surgery in August 2025, and manager Craig Albernaz will have a few options at closer and a potentially deeper set-up crew.

Helsley’s return makes it easier to slow-play Bautista if that’s the chosen path. Bautista missed the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Baseball business is heating up with the Brewers winning the World Series in five games over the Rays. Teams can exercise or decline options, and the Orioles have decisions pending on pitchers Zach Eflin (mutual option) and Dietrich Enns, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Luis Robert Jr.

The Baltimore Banner first confirmed Helsley’s intention to stay with the Orioles.