Proposed Cardinals-Orioles trade would be best possible outcome for both St. Louis and Baltimore
By Jacob Mountz
The Baltimore Orioles have made great strides in recent years though to no avail. In both 2023 and 2024, the O’s entered the postseason and were immediately swept. Now likely to lose Corbin Burnes, it appears they need to retool before coming back next year.
One concerning spot for the Orioles has been their bullpen. Their star closer Felix Bautista missed the entire 2024 season with an elbow injury and replacement closer Craig Kimbrel underperformed and was subsequently DFA’d. Baltimore finished the season with a 4.22 bullpen ERA. At the deadline, they traded for Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez to shore up their struggling relief corps. However, without any substantial improvement, the struggle only continued.
Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the Cardinals are in rebuild mode having failed to make the postseason. Luckily, there is a solution to help the Cardinals along in their rebuild and give the Orioles the ideal relief arm.
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A Ryan Helsley trade could solve both Cardinals and Orioles' problems
Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated offered this trade idea:
“The St. Louis Cardinals are looking for ways to improve their farm system and lower payroll. There are a handful of ways to do this, but it seems like one of the easiest would be to trade star closer Ryan Helsley… It seems like he is one of the more likely players to be moved by the Cardinals this winter and one team they should call is the Baltimore Orioles.”
Ryan Helsley finished the 2024 season with a remarkable 2.04 ERA and an MLB-best 49 saves across 66.1 innings. Next season, a one-two punch of Bautista and Helsley would present a lockdown bullpen that any postseason team would struggle to get past. For the Cardinals, there’s an equally exciting perk. McAvoy continued with this:
“It doesn't hurt that the Orioles have the best farm system in baseball as well,” McAvoy wrote. “Baltimore needs to improve the bullpen and has a surplus of top-tier prospects. The Cardinals want to trade Helsley and recoup prospects. It almost makes too much sense.”
Indeed, the Orioles have a deep pool of prospects to choose from. Helsley, though he is one of the best relievers in the game, will be a free agent after 2025 thus making a return package difficult to gauge. As McAvoy notes:
“It's unclear who the Orioles would be willing to give up, but a trade involving Helsley for two of Baltimore's top 15 prospects could be an interesting starting point in discussions.”
Should a trade between the orange and red birds take place, it could certainly solve both teams’ problems fairly quickly. There are many potential suitors for Helsley, but the Orioles may represent the best opportunity for the Cardinals to fill their needs.
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