The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off a key series win over the New York Mets this past weekend. A sweep of a doubleheader on Sunday got them to 16-19 on the year. But there's still a long way to go, and the expectation is that they will be sellers at the trade deadline rather than buyers.
One of the biggest moves they could make is to trade All-Star closer Ryan Helsley. They could bring back a haul of prospects or at least one high-level prospect. There are several teams that could use an All-Star Closer.
The Philadelphia Phillies are one of them thanks to Jordan Romano's struggles as the closer. Jim Bowden of The Athletic even proposed a blockbuster trade that would send Helsley to Philadelphia. That proposed trade would give the Cardinals top pitching prospect Mick Abel. While it's simply a swap, it's something St. Louis should strongly consider to bolster their minor league pitching depth.
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Cardinals should jump on opportunity to trade closer for top Phillies prospect
Abel has been slow to develop, as Bowden points out. However, he's off to a good start in 2025, having posted a 2.75 ERA thus far, as well as cutting down on walks. St. Louis could always use more pitching depth as well.
Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy have both panned out so far. Gordon Graceffo and Andre Pallante have bright futures as well. Elsewhere in the system, they have Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence. However, both of those pitchers are currently hurt, and you can never have too much pitching. This trade could help the Cardinals get back to their old ways of churning out solid pitching prospects at a high rate.
For the Phillies to part with Abel, it's going to take a major piece, and Helsley could be that piece. The Cardinals should have traded him in the offseason, but they still have one more chance to capitalize on his value before he hits free agency.
In all likelihood, Helsley won't be back in St. Louis in 2026, so it's important for the Cardinals to not waste his value and risk losing him for nothing more than a qualifying offer draft pick. If they make this trade, they could have Abel in a rotation with Liberatore, Pallante, McGreevy and Sonny Gray. That could prove to be one of the best young rotations in baseball.
Time will tell where things stand at the trade deadline. If the Cardinals are out of the mix, this is something that could help them jumpstart their "reset" and even get them closer to contention again in 2026.