2016 New York Yankees' rebuild provides a blueprint for the St. Louis Cardinals

From 2013-2016, the New York Yankees made the playoffs only once in four years. The historic franchise eclipsed 85 wins only once -- in 2015 when they lost in the American League Wild Card. 2016 was the final season of this stretch of underperformance for the Yankees, and general manager Brian Cashman took that season to reset the roster for the future.

At the time, Gary Sanchez was the only member of the "Baby Bombers" to have risen to the majors, but players like Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Hicks were close to making their debuts. There was a young core developing for the Yankees, and these players with Luis Severino and Sonny Gray were supposed to carry the team in 2017 and beyond.

At the 2016 trade deadline, Cashman saw that the Yankees, 52-52 at the time and well out of the playoff picture, weren't going to do much damage that year in the regular season or the postseason. He took the deadline to sell off expiring assets such as relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. In return, Cashman landed prospects Gleyber Torres and Adam Frazier, two players who would be key contributors for the team in the years to come.

This 2016 deadline is the model for teams that are looking to rebuild or retool quickly. It took the Yankees all of one season to return to postseason prominence, as they made it to the American League Championship Series in 2017 to kick off a stretch of six straight postseason appearances.

The St. Louis Cardinals should look to do the same this offseason. Now, the Yankees have significantly more financial freedom, so St. Louis can't do exactly what the Yankees did -- they immediately re-signed Chapman that very offseason. However, the Cardinals could look to take 2025 as a year to debut young players while trading off enticing veterans on expiring contracts.

One such veteran player could be Ryan Helsley. In one of his recent chats, Derrick Goold referenced the 2016 Yankees rebuild as a potential blueprint for the Cardinals this offseason.

Trading Helsley would be akin to the Yankees trading Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman back in 2016. Look at that ast he model and see how it set up the selling Yankees for a rebuild. That should be discussed more as a model for the Cardinals.

Should the Cardinals trade Ryan Helsley when he's at his peak value, they could net multiple prospects, perhaps even some in the top 100 in baseball judging by the price of relievers at this past trade deadline. This would help a farm system that has rebounded these past few years.

The Cardinals could also lean on their young core of players like Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Thomas Saggese, Ivan Herrera, and others in 2025 for a rebound.

Trading Ryan Helsley won't fix the Cardinals' larger issues, but it's one step in a movement toward youth. If they want a quick rebuild this offseason, using their greatest trade chip could help expedite that process. Helsley is a free agent after 2025, so he could even sign a contract to return to St. Louis in 2026.