The St. Louis Cardinals are off to a slow start in 2025. They are 9-10 through their first 19 games of the year and are tied for third place in the National League Central.
This year was not expected to be one in which the Cardinals are competitive and looking for a spot in the postseason. Instead, this is more of a transitional year for St. Louis.
If they continue struggling, we might end up seeing them sell at the trade deadline rather than buy. There are plenty of tradable assets on the current roster.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report lists All-Star closer Ryan Helsley as one of the most likely candidates to be traded at the deadline.
“The Cardinals do have the ability to hold onto Helsley and extend a qualifying offer to him in the offseason, assuring that they at least get draft-pick compensation if he leaves in free agency. But for a team looking to restock their farm system and once again build a great pipeline, moving Helsley this summer might be a nice way for outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to set Chaim Bloom up for success,” Kelly writes.
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Helsley could bring back a massive haul of prospects for St. Louis. The fact that he was held onto rather than traded in the offseason was certainly surprising.
But if the Cardinals want to restock the farm system, the trade deadline represents their last opportunity to do so with Helsley. The Cardinals need to add top-level prospects to their mix to set themselves up for 2026 and beyond.
Helsley saved 49 games last year, setting a Cardinals franchise record. The two-time All-Star also earned National League Reliever of the Year honors.
Teams tend to pay hefty prices for rental relievers, especially those of Helsley’s caliber, so there will likely be a lot of contending teams lining up for the right-hander’s services at the deadline.
It will certainly be interesting to see what the Cardinals can get for him.
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