The St. Louis Cardinals have performed far better than anybody expected in 2025, and it has made predicting their trade deadline strategy difficult. Typically, a team in their position would be considered surefire buyers, but it's not so clear with St. Louis, as they intended to have a "reset" this year rather than contend.
Their top trade chip is All-Star closer Ryan Helsley, but his numbers haven't been quite as good this year as they were in 2024. He owns a 3.75 ERA and has blown three saves in less than a week.
This could hurt his value, and if that does happen, the Cardinals may be forced to look elsewhere on their roster to find trade chips that could bring back anything of value. Fortunately, their roster is not devoid of potential trade chips.
Here are three to watch in the event that Helsley's value plummets.
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3. Erick Fedde
Like Helsley, Fedde is in the final year of his contract and was a candidate to be moved during the offseason. But the Cardinals also chose to hold onto him. The 32-year-old right-hander is 3-5 with a 3.54 ERA and could bring back a decent return.
If last year was any indication, rental pitchers, starters and relievers, could generate solid returns for selling teams. We don't know if St. Louis will sell, but Fedde is a name to watch, as prospect Michael McGreevy waits in the wings.
The Cardinals acquired Fedde from the Chicago White Sox last year at the trade deadline in a deal that sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he would be named the NLCS MVP after a torrid series against the New York Mets.
It's one of John Mozeliak's recent moves that hasn't quite panned out for St. Louis, though not by any fault of Fedde's. But Fedde is still worth something on the trade market and could very easily bring back something the Cardinals may be looking for, even if that's an incremental piece that they may want to add to the roster for 2025.
2. Steven Matz
Steven Matz has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts. After three straight injury-plagued seasons, he has found a home in the St. Louis bullpen. He'll occasionally make a spot start or two, but the 34-year-old left-hander is 3-2 with a 2.41 ERA, which should boost his stock at either the trade deadline or when next offseason rolls around.
He's valuable as a starter and a reliever and can fill multiple roles for a contending team. He might not bring back the biggest haul, but he isn't worth nothing, and it's worth shopping him for St. Louis.
St. Louis signed Matz to a four-year, $44 million contract in December of 2021. It's safe to say the first three years of the deal didn't work out according to plan due to injuries and other struggles. But in each stint in the bullpen, Matz has proven to be very effective for St. Louis.
1. Phil Maton
Phil Maton was St. Louis lone free agent signing last winter. In mid-March, they signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract. Similarly to Helsley, Fedde, and Matz, he's in the final year of an affordable contract.
But while Helsley's value might be taking a hit, Maton's is rising. He owns a 2.16 ERA across 27 appearances in 2025 for the Cardinals. Relievers will be in high demand this deadline with so few available.
The market appears to be favoring selling teams, so if Helsley's value tanks, the Cardinals could still bring back a good package of prospects for Maton.
Maton is from Chatham, Illinois and grew up a fan of the Cardinals, so it's certainly a nice story about how he got a chance to play for his childhood team. But if the Cardinals can't trade Helsley, Maton is likely their next best trade chip.
His numbers are better than Helsley's thus far, and it could be a similar situation to when the Kansas City Royals sent Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Cole Ragans.
Depending on where Maton goes, the Cardinals could get a solid Major League ready prospect that could help them as soon as 2026.