5 players the Cardinals should have traded before their trade value dipped

You've to know when to hold them, when to fold them and went to your young assets when you're a Major League team. The Cardinals have held their cards on these youngsters.

By Josh Jacobs | Jul 25, 2023

Jun 28, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Tyler O'Neill (27) St. / Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

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Ryan Helsley

This past offseason, the Cardinals were offering Ryan Helsley to the Toronto Blue Jays in trade negotiations for catcher Danny Jansen.

That threw off a lot of fans. Why would they be willing to trade a closer as good as Helsley was last year? Well, the ever-volatile position of closer is why.

This year, Helsley has battled injuries this year and just isn't the same guy he was in 2022. Helsley is still a really good reliever, so I'm not saying there's an issue there. But he probably doesn't have the same value that he had before.

Helsley is a sneaky trade candidate this deadline, as contenders would surely love to add the flame thrower to their playoff bullpens, especially with him being under team control through 2025.

If the Cardinals don't get good value for Helsley though, they might as well wait and see if he can recapture some of his form from 2022 before making a trade.

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