High Leverage, Higher Anxiety: The Epic History of Mets Bullpen Nightmares

There’s a fine line between “high-leverage reliever” and “human gas can,” and right now Ryan Helsley is tripping over it like it’s the third base bag after a rain delay. Since arriving at the trade deadline, Helsley has turned late innings at Citi Field into something resembling a fire drill, except the sprinklers are busted and the exits are blocked.

Now, let me pause here. I have too much respect for anyone who puts on a major league uniform to call him a bum or a stiff. I can’t throw 98. I can’t throw 88, the only thing I can throw is my back out. These guys are the best of the best, and Helsley’s had stretches in his career where he’s been downright unhittable. But Mets fans don’t live in the past or on past season Strat-O-Matic Cards.

We live in the here and now. Right now, Helsley on the mound is like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, theres plenty of speed, but the ending usually involves an explosion and someone holding up an “Uh-oh” sign. Meep Meep!

Helsley isn’t just bad—he’s historically, epically, gloriously bad. In 14 appearances for the Mets, he’s logged 11 innings, allowed 19 hits, 18 runs, 14 earned, 7 home runs, and 8 walks with 13 strikeouts. His ERA: 11.45. His FIP: 2.455. Losses? Three. Blown saves? One. Basically, he’s the embodiment of every nightmare scenario you’ve ever feared while sitting in the upper deck, chewing through your Mets stress-ball supply. Every generation of Flushing faithful has its bullpen bogeyman the guy whose entrance music might as well be the sound of sirens. For some it was Armando Benítez, Braden Looper for others it was Jorge Julio, Mel Rojas and if you go back far enough, you’ll hear names like Rich Folkers, Doug Sisk whispered like campfire ghost stories. While Helsley is number one on the leaderboard (not in a good way), he is not alone. The Mets bullpen history is crowded with arms that made fans scratch their heads, gnaw their knuckles, and wonder if the late innings were secretly scripted by a comedy writer with a grudge.

Rich Folkers (1970): One of the early Mets relief experiments, Folkers posted ERAs over 5.00 in several outings, leaving fans hoping for anything to go right.

Doug Sisk (1983–1988): Sisk had flashes of competence but too often let the ball do what it wanted, giving up untimely hits that kept Citi Field in nervous suspense.

Manny Acosta (2012): Pitched 47.1 innings with a 6.46 ERA and a 1.84 K/BB ratio—a recipe for knuckle-biting.

Frank Francisco (2012–2013): Limited by injuries, but a 5.53 ERA and 2.24 K/BB ratio in 2012 made fans worry every time he touched the mound.

Robert Carson (2012–2013): Allowed nine home runs in just 19.2 innings in 2013—if extrapolated, it would have been a 91-homer season.

Bobby Parnell (2010–2015): A flame-throwing closer ; injuries and inconsistency turned moments of dominance into bullpen terror.

Antonio Bastardo (2016): In 41 appearances, he posted a 4.7 ERA and 1.4 WHIP, leaving fans grumbling about his $12 million contract.

Drew Gagnon (2018–2019): In two brief stints with the Mets, Gagnon pitched 35.2 innings over 23 games, posting a 7.32 ERA and 1.71 WHIP while allowing 13 home runs. A reliever whose appearances were short but memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Chris Flexen (2018–2019): In two short stints with the Mets, Flexen pitched 19.2 innings across 13 games (2 starts), allowing 22 runs (19 earned) on 29 hits, with 15 walks and 13 strikeouts. His ERA over that span: 8.69, WHIP: 2.33. Not exactly the calming presence Citi Field needed every appearance added to the bullpen jitters.

Jon Rauch (2012): Tall, intimidating, and oddly incapable of stopping base runners at key moments—a perfect storm of “why is he on the mound?”

Mel Rojas (1997–1998): Over two seasons with the Mets, Rojas appeared in 73 games, throwing 84.1 innings with 5 wins, 4 losses, a 5.76 ERA, 92 hits allowed, 54 earned runs, 36 walks, 93 strikeouts, and 13 home runs surrendered. His WHIP was 1.52, and he allowed 9.7 hits per nine innings. While he showed glimpses of the late‑’90s fastball that made him a standout earlier in his career, inconsistency and untimely runs turned him into yet another Mets bullpen headache.

Braden Looper (1996): Another ‘90s experiment, delivering mixed results that tested fans’ patience.

Adam Ottavino (second stint, 2024–2025): A reliever who occasionally dazzled but also let the Mets’ bullpen rollercoaster continue.

And so we come full circle. Mets fans have endured decades of bullpen chaos, and Ryan Helsley has claimed his throne atop a lineage of late-inning nightmares. He’s not just another shaky arm in Flushing’s bullpen annals—he’s a reminder that even in an era of analytics, pitch tracking, and biomechanical wizardry, baseball still finds a way to humble us. For every strikeout, there’s a liner over the head; for every hopeful inning, there’s a heart-stopping meltdown. Helsley may be the latest in a long line of “why did he get the call?” relievers, but he’s also a testament to the enduring absurdity, suspense, and heartbreak of watching Mets baseball. Pull up a seat, Mets fans—the bullpen show is always in town, and the fireworks, whether glorious or catastrophic, never disappoint.

Now it’s your turn: which Mets bullpen arm made you grit your teeth, gnaw your nails, or scream at the TV more than anyone else? Drop your picks in the comments below—let’s see who earns the title of your ultimate “uh-oh” reliever.