MLB trade regrade: John Mozeliak's final victory came thanks to Ryan Helsley and the Mets

The New York Mets' trade deadline was mostly quiet, save for a few calculated swings on the bullpen front. Their most noteworthy addition was hard-throwing righty Ryan Helsley, who was in the final year of his contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Helsley is a seven-year MLB vet and a two-time All-Star, rightfully hailed as one of the best closers in MLB. He arrived in New York with a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves across 36.0 innings with St. Louis, notching 41 strikeouts. Since the trade? Well, not great. Helsley coughed up three runs in two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Tigers. That puts his ERA at 11.45 through 11.0 innings as a Met. He has allowed 18 runs (14 earned) in that span.

Obviously, New York has ... regrets. This was meant to be a needle-moving addition in a tight NL East race. Instead, Helsley has come apart at the seams. It would appear that he is tipping pitches, which the Mets believe is fixable. That said, New York realized this issue five days ago, and so far zero progress has been made.

Manager Carlos Mendoza just looked exhausted when asked about Helsley's struggles postgame. He said he does not believe the issue is "tipping related," and noted the frustration of watching Helsley implode after such a solid start to the campaign in St. Louis.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have to be thrilled to get any sort of value before Helsley hits free agency. His tenure in St. Louis was clearly approaching its end and John Mozeliak, in essentially his last meaningful act as team president, was able to extract value from the win-now Mets.

Let's look back at the trade and re-grade it with the benefit of hindsight.

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Mets got fleeced in deadline trade for Ryan Helsley

There's really no way around it: The Mets got bamboozled. This isn't really anyone's fault per se, as there was no way to predict such a sharp and sudden decline. Helsley is still pumping triple-digit heat with a vicious slider at his disposal. As Mendoza said, opponents are just putting good swings on the ball.

If this is an issue of tipping pitches, obviously Helsley will need to spend the next month in the lab fixing it. The Mets could consider a brief Triple-A stint or even just a few days off to let Helsley reset mentally and find his stuff. A more extreme measure might be to DFA Helsley and cut bait, but that's unlikely considering how much New York gave up at the deadline.

The Mets sacrificed two top-15 prospects in infielder Jesus Baez (No. 8) and right-handed hurler Nate Dohm (No.14), not to mention a potential bullpen anchor down the road in Frank Elissalt. While New York managed to keep their top-100 prospects out of the deal — which is notable when Mason Miller, Jhoan Durán and other top relievers netted major hauls — it's still significant long-term equity that is essentially wasted if Helsley hits rock bottom and does not recover.

At the time of the trade, this was generally viewed as a favorable move for the Mets. Here is the verdict from FanSided's Quinn Everts, who gave New York a solid B-plus

"From the Mets perspective, why not? Adding (Tyler) Rogers earlier today for some promising prospects showed the team is full steam ahead in 2025, and this move confirms that. Baez (No. 8 Mets prospect) and Dohm (No. 14 Mets prospect) is a pretty substantial package just like the package they gave up for Rogers, but a World Series parade in Queens would make fans forget about that quickly. Helsley, even in a down year, gives the Mets reinforcements in the bullpen, shoring up the biggest area of need for Carlos Mendoza's team."

While this was by all indications a reasonable show of aggression from the Mets front office with a championship window laid out before them, it has backfired in spectacular fashion. Again, there's time to salvage things, but Helsley may be too far gone already.

Mets regrade: D

Cardinals are taking Ryan Helsley return package all the way to the bank

On the flip side, the Cardinals essentially dealt an expiring reliever in a lost season for two top-15 prospects and a 23-year-old reliever with upside. St. Louis won't see the fruits of this trade for a while, as Baez, Dohm and Elissalt all need more time in the Minors, but it was a savvy investment in their future and a no-brainer considering Helsley's free agency outlook.

Mozeliak has taken his share of criticism in recent years, but there's a reason he has spent decades in charge of the Cardinals front office. He knows what he's doing, and this trade could go down as a fine endpoint to an accomplished career.

Odds are Helsley will hit free agency this winter and find a new home. He was a pure rental for the Mets, especially with how he's pitching at the moment. While rentals can lead to World Series, which is well worth it, this Mets pitching staff does not feel up to the task right now, even with the recent breakouts of Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong.

FanSided handed St. Louis a C grade when the trade transpired. In hindsight, the Cardinals are clear winners.

Cardinals regrade: A