It's a matter of when the St. Louis Cardinals will trade Ryan Helsley, not if. Helsley is sure to be one of the best relief pitchers available on the open market come the trade deadline, and as much as he might want to remain in St. Louis, the Cards are a team without much direction. John Mozeliak gave way to Chaim Bloom, but Helsley would be a great fit in a struggling bullpen.
Enter the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D'Backs have now lost both of their closers to the injured list. As Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported, AJ Puk and Justin Martinez started the season as the Diamondbacks co-closers. Puk has since been placed on the 60-day injured list, while Martinez is on the 15-day IL. Yikes.
Despite a less-than-ideal start to the regular season, the Diamondbacks have since recovered to the tune of a 16-14 record through 30 games. The MLB season is long and arduous, and the Diamondbacks are a force to be reckoned with, and a dark horse team to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. With the right bullpen upgrade, they may be just that.
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Ryan Helsley's trade value has never been higher for Cardinals
Helsey would be a tremendous fit in a Diamondbacks bullpen that is running out of reinforcements. Despite all that has gone wrong in St. Louis, Helsley still has a respectable 3.60 ERA – though higher than usual for him – and could use a change in scenery. Helsley spoke about the possibility of getting traded last December, and his point still stands.
“Sometimes guys think the grass is greener on the other side, but that’s not always the case,” Helsley said. “There are a lot of good organizations out there and the Cardinals aren’t the only one that have a winning history. If I get traded, I hope it’s to a team that I can help win. But that would be an emotional day because I grew up rooting for the Cardinals, got drafted by them in 2015 and I’ve spent 10 years with them. But, at the end of the day, I’ve got to be professional and move on if it comes to that.”
Helsley is as professional as they come. If he's asked to close games for Arizona, a team with a winning culture, he would relish the opportunity. The Diamondbacks expect to make the postseason, while the Cardinals lack a clear path. It really is that simple.
As for the Cards, they can use the Diamondbacks desperation against them. There's little time to waste in Phoenix.