It’s no secret the Philadelphia Phillies will be looking to add a high-leverage reliever — possibly two — before the July 31 trade deadline to shore up their struggling bullpen. The bigger question is: who will it be, and what prospects will they have to part with?
One popular name being floated is St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. The Cardinals have surprised many by staying in the playoff mix. They’re currently 49–43, sitting 5.5 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and just 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot.
Whether Helsley will actually be made available remains uncertain, but the two-time All-Star is set to hit free agency at the end of the season. With no indication the Cardinals plan to re-sign him, it could make sense for them to leverage his value now for young talent.
Helsley, who led MLB with 49 saves in 2024, has 18 this season along with a 3.19 ERA, 131 ERA+, and 3.86 FIP. The Athletic’s MLB analyst Jim Bowden, former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals, believes a trade with Philadelphia could look something like this.
“He’s in his free-agent walk year and the Cardinals are still within striking distance. A reasonable return in a trade with the Phillies could be second baseman Aroon Escobar and outfielder Griffin Burkholder. MLB Pipeline ranks Escobar and Burkholder sixth and ninth, respectively, in the Phillies’ system,” notes Bowden.
Helsley would give the Phillies the high-leverage arm they’ve been missing. Their bullpen ranks 23rd in ERA at 4.42. Jose Alvarado was suspended 80 games for PED use, making him ineligible for the postseason, and top free-agent signing Jordan Romano has struggled with a 7.44 ERA in 36 appearances. Romano’s latest low point came when he allowed a walk-off inside-the-park, three-run homer to Giants catcher Patrick Bailey in a 4–3 loss to San Francisco on Tuesday night.
