Ryan Helsley, the fireballing two-time All-Star closer and longest-tenured member of the St. Louis Cardinals, recently estimated his chances of being traded away at “90 percent.” He was proven correct on Wednesday when he was traded to the New York Mets.
“The likelihood is probably as great as it’s ever been for me to get traded,” Helsley said recently, an acknowledgement of the reality facing him after expressing in the spring the desire for an extension.
In exchange for Helsley, the Mets are sending Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt to the Cardinals.
Helsley joins Tyler Rogers, whom New York acquired earlier in the day from San Francisco, in a reshuffled back end of the Mets bullpen. The two will help serve as set-up men for Edwin Díaz.
Helsley was the No. 26-ranked player on The Athletic’s final trade deadline Big Board, and his move comes after Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, No. 4 on the board, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 as part of a sports betting investigation.
Though he hasn’t been as dominant as last season, Helsley, 30, remains one of the top closers in the league thanks to his powerful fastball and wipeout slider. Entering play on Wednesday, Helsley had posted a 3.00 ERA over 36 games (21 saves), with 41 strikeouts in 36 innings.
Helsley’s fastball ranks in the 99th percentile in average velocity (99.3 miles per hour). His chase rate and whiff rate are over 30 percent, and he’s struck out roughly a quarter of his total batters faced this year.
There will be some concern over his fastball command as his heater has been hit much harder this year than in previous seasons. But Helsley’s stuff, combined with his overall experience, makes him a legitimate weapon and greatly improves the back-end of the Mets’ bullpen.
Helsley is owed $2.6 million for the remainder of the season, his last before hitting free agency for the first time. In a market replete with relievers with additional team control, the Mets’ David Stearns instead targeted the best rental options available – characteristic of his deadline decision-making in the past.
In both Wednesday deals, the Mets sacrificed three players for one reliever. Whereas the Rogers deal included current or near-term big leaguers, this one for Helsley includes three players in High A. None of the three players acquired for Helsley are top 100 prospects, though Baez, an infielder with enough pop to withstand a defensive switch to third base, entered the season ranked No. 7 in the Mets system, according to The Athletic’s Keith Law. Dohm, a third-round pick out of Mississippi State last summer and No. 17 on Law’s list, has done well in a conversion to the rotation. Elissat, a 19th-rounder last year, is unranked.
Trading Helsley signals the start of the Cardinals’ sell-off, which is also expected to include right-handed reliever Phil Maton and left-hander Steven Matz. St. Louis is expected to covet prospects in each of the potential returns.
“We have to understand what the future looks like,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said last week. “As we reflect on what’s best for the organization, there is the longer view in terms of ‘are there decisions that we can make that would better situate the franchise in 2026 and beyond?’”
Trade grades
Mets: B
Cardinals: B
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is putting in work today. Hours after acquiring groundball specialist Tyler Rogers, Stearns added Helsley, the Cardinals’ closer. The Mets won’t ask Helsley to supplant Edwin Díaz, but his presence could free up manager Carlos Mendoza to utilize Diaz in earlier high-leverage spots.
Helsley’s past looks brighter than his future. He has become far more prone to hits and home runs in 2025, as his fastball has been getting punished. But since Helsley is a rental, the Mets only need to worry about properly deploying him during these next few months. Some other club can ponder his long-term prospects when he reaches free agency in November. For now, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner can try to optimize Helsley, who still possesses an elite slider and throws one of the hardest heaters in the sport.
To get Rogers, Stearns gave up a trio of players who are likely to contribute in the majors this season. For Helsley, St. Louis opted for a group further away on the prospect timeline. Baez headlines the group. He’ll need more seasoning, but some scouts think he can make it as a regular on the left side of the infield. Dohm has missed plenty of Class-A bats this summer. He spent several college seasons as a reliever, so this is his first extended run as a starter. — Andy McCullough
Mets: A-
Cardinals: B-
Over the 2022-24 seasons, Helsley had a 1.83 ERA and a 0.954 WHIP while allowing .5 homers per nine innings. This season, he has a 3.00 ERA and a 1.389 WHIP while allowing 1 homer per nine innings.
Helsley, then, is a touch below his peak. But with all reliever deals, you have to ask: Is he better than the last guy in the bullpen? As long as the answer is yes, it’s an upgrade. And with Helsley, the answer is an easy yes. He’s not coming over to unseat Diaz. In Helsley and Rogers, the Mets have acquired two righties with very different looks who will work in high-leverage spots.
And unlike Rogers, they get Helsley (a rental) without losing anyone from the major-league roster. In fact, Baez, Dohm and Elissalt are all still below Double A. Maybe one or two of them become useful big leaguers, but they don’t profile as players likely to haunt a team with the Mets’ resources. They’re worthwhile additions for the Cardinals, but the haul would have been much better had they traded Helsley when he was still an elite closer and had more club control. — Tyler Kepner
Ryan Helsley was No. 26 on the Big Board
Within an hour of the Phillies trading for Twins closer Jhoan Duran, the Mets made a move for one of the next-best options. Helsley was the fifth-highest relief pitcher on our Big Board, but he was the highest-ranked bullpen rental. He hasn’t been as dominant as he was last year, but his fastball/slider combination remains potent. He’s the final piece of a Mets bullpen makeover that’s seen two other relief pitchers acquired in the past week.
But other teams need bullpen help, and our Big Board still has plenty of options. Pirates closer David Bednar, Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, and Royals closer Carlos Estévez also ranked among our top 50, and Padres closer Robert Suarez probably should have (we didn’t rank him, but it now seems possible the Padres could get creative and trade him). The Giants could also trade Camilo Doval, the Nationals could trade Kyle Finnegan, and the Angels could deal Kenley Jansen.
Relief pitching — especially closers — is one of the places where this trade market is potentially deepest. Once that market started to move, two of the biggest chips came off the board in a hurry. — Chad Jennings
(Photo of Ryan Helsley after defeating the Cubs this season: Patrick Gorski / Imagn Images)
