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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cardinals were less than a few weeks into spring training when Ryan Helsley walked into the manager’s office to learn about a decision that would help define the club’s season and slingshot him toward a record-setting first half, an All-Star Game invitation and potentially one of the finest seasons ever for a Cardinal in the role he was about to get.

After several seasons of using matchups and moments, not saves and their pesky ninth-inning trappings, to guide their use of Helsley, the Cardinals were going retro, totes traditional.

He had the ninth, manager Oliver Marmol told Helsley.

They had a closer.

“Honestly, in my head I was thinking it would be cool just to be a closer sometime,� Helsley said. “I think the competitor in me wanted to be in there whenever I had the chance to be in there. This spring, it was, we’re going to focus on how I can be available every day, how can I feel my best every day and take the ball. They said, ‘We’re going to stick to our guns and let you be that one-inning closer for us.’�

The returns have been essential to a second-place Cardinals team prone to playing claustrophobic games. Helsley leads the majors with 32 saves and he had a 31-for-31 streak of successfully converting save opportunities. He has appeared in 37 of the Cardinals’ 50 wins, and according to advanced metrics, no player has routinely appeared in higher-leverage spots this season. He set a Cardinals record for most saves by the All-Star break, shattered the club record for most consecutive save opportunities secured, and earned his second career All-Star Game nod. It was there, on Monday afternoon at Texas’ Globe Life Field, that he made a decision about the All-Star Game that reflects what has made his season so successful.

He knows when to save himself.

Availability has been essential to his success, and to assure his availability to start the sprint to October, Helsley bowed out of the 94th Midsummer Classic. He’ll “soak it up and celebrate it,� he said, but won’t pitch in it Tuesday night.

“As active as I’ve been, for me, it’s going to be trying to be healthy,� he said. “Take the four days. I’ve been really busy the first half. Let my body recover. I want to pitch, but I think the smart thing is to take a few days.�

Major League Baseball replaced Helsley on the active roster with Washington reliever Kyle Finnegan. That move means the Cardinals’ lone player selected for the All-Star Game will not appear.

Helsley explained the decision was made after conversations with Cardinals coaches, athletic trainers and the National League coaching staff in Texas. He had a save over the weekend as the Cardinals split a series with the Cubs, and Helsley recently completed his first two-inning outing of the season. He said there is no physical ailment beyond fatigue and pitching recently through some hip tightness. He planned to dine with almost a dozen family members and friends Monday and celebrate “a healthy first half.�

“Just listening to your body,� Helsley told the Post-Dispatch on the field at Globe Life on Monday. “This being my first year of being a true closer, full time, and knowing what you can and can’t pitch through — because there’s a lot of days when you don’t feel great. This year, I’ve been taking a lot of notes on how my body feels, what needs attention. That’s been a big learning point. We have a lot of games left, so it’s big for me to figure out ways and make sure I’m staying healthy for this full season.�

A ‘true closer’

During the course of a nine-minute conversation, Helsley returned several times to a phrase he also used to describe what’s different about his second All-Star invitation.

This time, he said, he’s a “true closer.�

He mentioned what he’s learned about the role of “true closer,� about what it means to be a “true closer,� what it takes, and the responsibilities of being a “true closer.� These are some of the same conversations the Cardinals had ahead of pivoting to a true closer.

“When you look at some of the more long-term, successful closers, not just high-leverage guys but guys who close and stay in that role year after year — not six months, not a good three-month stretch,� Cardinals pitching coach Dusty Blake said. “Consistently, there is a theme that is similar. The stress and pressure of the moment is obviously very high. You either have to be great, or you lose. There aren’t many situations in our game that revolve around either you’re good or your team loses. Stakes are high. And the margin is tiny.

“One thing to help accommodate someone in that role and with that pressure,� Blake continued, “is to maybe neutralize it a little bit and take away some of the unknowns.�

Blake recited a list of things closers don’t do that Helsley did at times.

He would enter in the middle of an inning.

He would pitch more than three outs.

He would appear in the seventh against the middle of the order one day, in the eighth the next, and maybe close out the ninth a week later.

“When you look at a lot of the traditional closers, they’re not coming in dirty (with runners on), they’re not doing multiple innings a lot,� Blake said. “It leaves some room for focus and commitment to this: ‘What can I expect today?’ He knows it’s not going to be easy, but he knows he can go out there and let it eat for three outs and let the chips fall where they may vs. he’s got to navigate this inning, come in, sit, and I don’t know how long it is. It’s hard to pitch in leverage. We wanted to look at having him think, ‘I’ve got three guys.’“

In 17 of his 32 saves, including three of his past four, Helsley has pitched an inning and faced only three batters. He’s had 32 scoreless appearances.

As far as shaping his team’s ability to win, he leads the NL with 2.7 win probability added. That is, he leads all pitchers in the NL, not just closers or relievers. He is just ahead of NL All-Star Game starter Paul Skenes. The Pirates rookie has a 2.3 WPA in 11 starts.

“He’s so dominant that if you want to talk about the effect he has on our team or other teams, other teams know they’re playing an eight-inning ballgame, and we know we’re playing an eight-inning ballgame,� starter Andre Pallante said. “That’s a powerful feeling. You feel like, hey, we’ve got nine innings to score runs, and they only have eight. Having a guy who you know can that do that, makes it easier as a team to put up some wins.“

Said Marmol: “He’s an All-Star for a reason. I think we’re seeing what he has shown the ability to do. It’s just in a more defined role.�

The road ahead

And after the All-Star break, he could close out one of the best seasons by a Cardinals closer. He already has authored the 22nd 30-save season in club history. The only other two Cardinals closer to be elected to multiple All-Star Games are Hall of Famers, Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith. Given his current pace, Helsley could take aim at Trevor Rosenthal’s club record 48 saves, set in 2015 along with a 2.10 ERA and a 2.7 WAR. Helsley currently has a 1.5 WAR and 2.36 ERA.

Only Rosenthal, Smith and the club’s career saves leader, Jason Isringhausen, have had seasons with more than 45 saves.

“Knowing what it takes to be a true closer in this game and that’s being available for 85% to 90% of the (close) games,� said Helsley, who can be a free agent after 2025 if not signed to an extension. “How much I can be available and throw and still feel pretty good. I’ve pitched through some stuff, still competed, and still got a lot of outs.�

He has kept meticulous track of how he feels day to day, how he recovers, and also how he’s blitzed through some fatigue or soreness with his 100-mph fastball. He spoke to some other “true closers� to get insight, and again and again, he heard about the power of availability. So he opted not to make himself available for Tuesday night’s showcase of the game’s top talent so that he could be available Friday for the Cardinals’ resumption of a pivotal season.

He’s done the math on what’s possible, but it’s impossible if he’s not available.

“I had seven saves in September, and seven times six is 42,� Helsley said. “If you can get six to seven saves a month that’s a pretty good year.�

What does that make 32 at the break?

“That’s pretty surreal,� he said. “You just really have to take it one day at a time, be available as much as possible, and be there to see where you’re at the end of the season.�