7 players facing their last stand with the Cardinals heading out of All-Star break

Ryan Helsley

If you check out any of the insiders around the game of baseball, Ryan Helsley's name continues to be one of the most popular thrown out there as a player that teams are going to want to acquire at this year's trade deadline — but will the Cardinals actually shop him?

Through 33 games this year, Helsley has posted a 3.27 ERA and 3.84 FIP while striking out 24.8% of the batters he has faced. His fastball continues to regress as a pitch, and his slider hasn't been as effective as it was in years past. Still, with the track record and pedigree that Helsley carries as an elite closer, teams are going to be tempted by him and would love to add him to their mix.

Last year, Helsley led all of baseball in saves with 49 to the tune of a 2.04 ERA. The year prior, Helsley missed significant time with injuries but still posted a 2.25 ERA in his 33 games. In 2022, Helsley posted an incredible 1.25 ERA in 64.2 innings of work. There are very few closers who can match that production from Helsley since then.

Plenty of contenders are going to want to grab Helsley in a trade. Keith Law of The Athletic recently said on 101 ESPN that he believed the Cardinals could "hold the market hostage" with a Helsley trade and pry a lot of value from a team because of the upside he presents. While I am a bit skeptical of that myself, plenty of people keep saying it, so maybe the industry still does view Helsley in a favorable way.

For comparison, best-case scenario, I think the Cardinals are looking at a return that is a half or full step down from the Jordan Montgomery package back in 2023. Montgomery and Chris Stratton netted the Cardinals Tekoah Roby, Thomas Saggese, and John King, a really nice return looking back at the deal. Something in that range, likely a bit less, or maybe one better prospect if they go for quality over quantity, feels like where the high range of Helsley's value lands.

The question then becomes how critical is holding onto Helsley for the Cardinals? Can they go through the second half without their closer? Does getting value for the future trump what he brings to them now? Apparently, the club still views him as a potential qualifying offer guy, so they complicate things a bit further.