The St. Louis Cardinals have experienced an up-and-down campaign thus far, with the team going through a rebuilding phase this year. They parted ways with several veterans during the offseason and are likely to continue trading some of their major assets in order to develop the roster for the future.
MLB Insider Expects Ryan Helsley to Generate Plenty of Interest at the Trade Deadline
MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post has predicted Cardinals’ closer Ryan Helsley to be the most coveted player in the relief pitcher market at the trade deadline this season. Helsley may be surplus to requirements with the team unlikely to contend for a playoff berth as he enters the final months before reaching free agency.
Helsley was a fifth-round pick for the Cardinals at the 2015 MLB Draft and made his debut for the team four years later. He has been one of the best relief pitchers in the game over the past three seasons with two All-Star Game call-ups. Helsley led the major leagues in saves last season and was named the National League Reliever of the Year.
“The best reliever available is expected to be Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, who’s a free agent after the year. The 100-mph-throwing Helsley is employing a curve more,” Heyman wrote in his column for The Post on Thursday.
Ryan Helsley, White Castle Special. 🤮🍔🍔🍔 pic.twitter.com/wQfQ2jtwQm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 6, 2025
Last year, Helsley finished 62 games for the Redbirds, the most in the National League, and he led the entire MLB with 49 saves. In all, he posted 66.1 innings with a 2.04 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts, while giving up just three home runs. He finished the year with 2.9 bWAR and agreed to an $8.2 million salary with the team for the 2025 campaign.
Heyman believes the rising number of injuries among pitchers might force postseason contending teams to make a deal to sign Helsley for his final months before becoming a free agent. He pointed out that the Cardinals can afford to function with the services of the 30-year-old, as they almost have an entirely healthy bullpen at the moment.
“The pitching injuries are getting crazy but aren’t evenly divided. The Cardinals, who sometimes employ a six-man rotation to combat baseball’s bad pitching injury history in March and April (old friend Steven Matz is the swing man), have only one pitcher on the IL. Meantime, the Orioles have nine (and quality ones; Zach Eflin could be back this weekend), and the Dodgers had as many as 12.”
The Cardinals have barely been a .500 team. They currently have a 19-19 record for the season, while Helsley has also made a sluggish start to the campaign. He has six saves from 13 appearances so far with a 3.46 ERA and 1.578 WHIP. Therefore, his team could decide to make a trade deal before his value depreciates any further.