The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in an unusual spot as the trade deadline approaches. They’re sitting at 51-46, just 1½ games behind that third Wild Card spot, but they haven’t committed to a direction yet.
That puts them in a position where they could buy, sell, or do a bit of both. What’s clear is they’ve got pieces that contending teams will want.
The biggest name on their roster is All-Star closer Ryan Helsley. He’s the kind of proven reliever who can bring back a meaningful return if the Cardinals decide to move him.
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa thinks that’s exactly what’ll happen, predicting St. Louis will deal him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The Cardinals, at 51-46, are only 1 ½ games behind the third wild-card spot, so a full-on sell-off at the trade deadline won’t happen. Helsley will be a free agent after the season though, and losing him for nothing but a draft pick (if St. Louis even makes him the qualifying offer) would be tough to swallow.”
The math here makes sense. Helsley’s contract situation creates urgency – he’ll hit free agency after this season. The Cardinals can either cash in now or risk losing him for just a compensatory pick.
And what a closer they’d be trading. Helsley’s coming off a career year where he saved a franchise-record 49 games and won NL Reliever of the Year. This season hasn’t been quite as dominant – he’s 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA and 19 saves in 33 appearances – but he’s still one of the better late-inning options available.
Here’s the thing about the Cardinals’ situation: their prospect pipeline isn’t exactly overflowing right now. They’re particularly thin on pitching prospects, which made their selection of Liam Doyle in this year’s draft more significant than usual.
That’s where trading Helsley starts to make real sense. Sure, they’re within striking distance of a playoff spot, but does this roster actually have World Series potential? The way I see it, they’d be better served turning their best trade asset into future pieces rather than holding onto him for a Wild Card run that might not materialize.
The next few weeks should tell us which direction the Cardinals are really leaning. But if they’re serious about building something sustainable, moving Helsley could be the move that finally gets their rebuild rolling.
