STL Cardinals news: Ryan Helsley arbitration puts Cards on slippery slope

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, at least on the surface, took his arbitration hearing loss in stride, but it’s another bad look for the system for another National League Central team

One day after Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes voiced his displeasure with his team over a $749,000 difference in salary numbers heading into arbitration (a hearing the Brewers won), Helsley was much more reserved with his judgment over a ruling that gives him a $2.15 million salary in 2023. The Cardinals reliever had sought $3 million after posting a 1.25 ERA/2.34 FIP/0.742 WHIP in 64.2 innings over 54 games, but shrugged off the ruling when speaking to reporters.

“If the worst thing that happens to me is that I make $2 million and not three, I’ll be all right,” Helsley said. “I just try to be thankful for the opportunities that I have and cherish them all while I have them.”

St. Louis Cardinals won the battle for Ryan Hensley’s salary, but is it a temporary win only?

With two more years of arbitration left, Helsley will likely once again be battling for a higher salary against the Cardinals in the months ahead. The 28-year-old right-hander will also take the lessons he learned from the experience (and the feelings from the loss) moving forward in his career.

“It’s definitely tough,” Helsley said. “You don’t understand it until you experience it, like a lot of things in life.”

But it’s the later comments from Helsley that should ring an alarm for the Cardinals. While they were comments he made in regards to Burnes losing his arbitration case against the Brewers, they certainly applied in the Gateway City as well.

“So it’s a crazy system. I don’t understand it and unfortunately, it doesn’t benefit the players,” he said. “But it is what it is and you just have to roll with it.”

Helsley is expected to be a key piece of the back end of the bullpen once again this season, meaning, much like their rivals to the north, the Cardinals are playing with fire by wrestling with one of their key pitchers over less than $1 million.

For a franchise that had a relatively quiet offseason (outside of signing catcher Willson Contreras) and is saving money by Nolan Arenado choosing to not opt out of his contract, perhaps choosing to not quibble with a player over a small amount of salary in the grand scheme of the payroll would, on the surface, make sense. However, as Helsley said, there are some things you just don’t understand.