The St. Louis Cardinals dealt three players at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, with two-time All-Star closer Ryan Helsley being the most noteworthy player dealt. He was traded to the New York Mets, but the Mets weren’t the only New York team interested in him.
Aside from the Mets, the New York Yankees were in on Helsley, but according to Andy Martino of SNY, the trade demands for the Yankees were incredibly high. “They tried for Ryan Helsley and would have had to give up at least one of those top top guys.”
They tried for Ryan Helsley and would have had to give up at least one of those top top guys https://t.co/Vx0nIQtsem
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) August 1, 2025
Martino mentions that the Cardinals were asking for “top top guys” from the Yankees, with those players referring to Ben Rice, Spencer Jones, and Jasson Dominguez.
Either of those three players would be a massive return for Helsley, especially since he’s just a two-month rental. Barring him being dominant amid a World Series run, moving one of those three would be a huge overpay.
Rice has been great in the Major Leagues this season, with a .781 OPS in 94 games this season. He doesn’t get a ton of playing time as the part-time catcher, first baseman, and designated hitter. But when he does play, he’s been great for New York.
While Dominguez hasn’t been as good as Rice, his .728 OPS is still very solid, and at just 22 years old, moving him for Helsley would be too much for the Yankees to give up.
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Jones, meanwhile, is one of the most intriguing prospects in baseball, and he’s a player to keep an eye on for a long time once he makes the Major Leagues. St. Louis, if they landed one of these three players for Helsley as a rental, would be a massive coup.
It hardly seems like a realistic ask, especially with what the Minnesota Twins got for Jhoan Duran, who has been better than Helsley this season, and is also under control through the 2027 season.
But this report from Martino points to the Cardinals’ trade demands from the Yankees being incredibly lofty, before settling on the package from the Mets.
While it’s nowhere near as great as what they were asking from the Yankees, the Mets package is a lot more realistic than the huge return mentioned by Martino.
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