2 teams rumored to be in the hunt for Cardinals' Ryan Helsley

It's only late April, but bullpens and closers around the major leagues remain as volatile as ever. The St. Louis Cardinals are lucky in that they possess one of the top stoppers in the league in the person of Ryan Helsley. However, with the Cardinals in the middle of a "retool" or "youth movement," a strong closer is a luxury rather than a necessity. Because of this, fans and the media have widely speculated that Helsley will be dealt at some point in 2025, as he is the Cardinals' most valuable trade chip and will be a free agent following this season.

Many outlets expected Helsley to be gone prior to the opening of the 2025 season, but Helsley expressed a preference to remain in St. Louis. That may turn out to benefit the Cardinals, as teams who recognize that they are in contention down the stretch but lack a shutdown closer will be willing to provide more assets to secure Helsley's services.

Helsley led the major leagues with 49 saves in 2024 and made his second All-Star team, but with the Cardinals' rickety bridge to Helsley (i.e., bad bullpen), the fireballer only has four saves in five opportunities on the season. Several teams are likely clamoring for Helsley, believing he is the missing piece to get them over the hump.

At least two teams have reportedly expressed interest in Helsley early in the season.

According to the odds-and-ends piece at the end of a Bob NIghtengale article in USA Today, the Philadelphia Phillies are looking in on Helsley. Philadelphia's bullpen currently has the second-highest ERA in the league, at 5.46, and recently pulled Jordan Romano from the closer's role. Despite those struggles in the arm barn, the Phillies hold a 15-13 record and are second in NL East. What could give the Cardinals pause in such a deal is that the Phillies have stated that they are not willing to give up Andrew Painter or Aidan Miller, their top two prospects.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are the other team that Nightengale connected to Helsley. At 4.69, Arizona's bullpen holds the seventh-highest ERA in the league and has blown five of their 13 save opportunities on the season. The Diamondbacks expect late-game reliever A.J. Puk to be sidelined for an extended stretch, and there are also injury concerns around current closer Justin Martinez.

The Cardinals will hope that the return for Helsley dwarfs that of the last elite closer on the final year of his contract to be swapped. The Milwaukee Brewers traded "airbender" extraordinaire Devin Williams to the New York Yankees and received Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. The Brewers' return seemed light in many fans' eyes, leading to speculation that a Helsley deal could disappoint Cardinals fans. Perhaps the Cardinals will get more by trading Helsley during the season as opposed to the offseason, which was when the Brewers opted to ship Williams to the Bronx.

The Cardinals should be extremely cautious with Helsley if they plan to trade him at the deadline. The worst possible scenario would be Helsley going down with a significant injury and missing the remainder of the season, allowing him to depart in free agency and leaving the Cardinals empty-handed.

Now the longest-tenured Cardinal, Helsley has been a class act in St. Louis. It will hurt seeing him wear a different uniform, but if everything goes as expected and he is dealt to a contending team for some prospects, the Cardinals will be in a better position to return to their familiar perch atop the division within a few seasons.