2 strong trade packages Cardinals can bring back for Ryan Helsley

The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild. It won't be a total and complete teardown, as both Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have already confirmed they want to stay in St. Louis despite the new direction the team is taking. But other players such as Ryan Helsley and Nolan Arenado could be on the way out.

Helsley's value is going to be incredibly high after he saved 49 games and set a Cardinals franchise record. He's also in the final year of his contract and is due a significant raise in arbitration. In all likelihood, St. Louis will not be able to re-sign the star closer after next season, so it makes sense to trade him.

Two teams in particular could give St. Louis good packages for Helsley. The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are rich in prospects, and with the Cardinals looking to get younger, they could stack up on some of these prospects. Here are two packages the Cardinals could bring back for their star closer.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Red Sox package for Ryan Helsley

St. Louis would be wise to look at Boston's prospects, as soon-to-be president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is largely responsible for putting that farm system together during his time at the helm of the Red Sox.

The Cardinals do have some pitchers that are almost Major League ready, but they could stand to add at least one more. Fitts was Boston's No. 13 ranked prospect in 2024. He made his debut late in the season and posted a 1.74 ERA in his four starts.

On the other hand, the Cardinals are thin on position players, and this is where Meidroth and Zanatello can help. Meidroth is expected to be ready next year. He hit .293 with seven home runs and 57 RBI with Triple-A Worcester.

As for Zanatello, he isn't expected to be ready until 2027, and St. Louis already has Masyn Winn at shortstop, but perhaps he could shift to second base. He is also a St. Louis area native.

Orioles package for Ryan Helsley

Baltimore also has some good prospects. Keep in mind too that when they traded for Trevor Rogers, they had to send Connor Norby to the Miami Marlins for the trade to work. So, just imagine what the Cardinals could get from them for Helsley, who won the NL Reliever of the Year award last night.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it's highly unlikely that the Orioles will want to trade top prospect Coby Mayo. But Basallo and McDermott are Baltimore's No. 2 and No. 5 prospects, respectively.

Between Double-A and Triple-A, Basallo hit 19 home runs, drove in 65 runs and hit for a .278 average. He is a catcher, and St. Louis already has a lot of depth at that position, but the Cardinals could use him as a first base option or potentially even a designated hitter since Willson Contreras has agreed to move to first to replace Paul Goldschmidt.

McDermott made his Major League debut late in the season and gave up three runs over four innings, which amounts to a 6.75 ERA. However, at Triple-A Norfolk the young right-hander went 4-5 with a respectable 3.78 ERA in 22 appearances, 21 of which were starts. He could be plugged into St. Louis' rotation right away and give them a superior option to Miles Mikolas.

These two trades could certainly boost the Cardinals as they try to expedite their rebuild.