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While there are rumors surrounding St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado, he is not seen as the most sought-after player on the team, according to the latest report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It is Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley who commanded rumors around the league that appear to have more interest when it comes to Thursday's trade deadline.
Feinsand would write on X, formerly Twitter, that Helsley is “one of the most popular trade targets” with around six teams that have interest in pursuing Helsley. Some of the big teams mentioned are the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, and others.
“Ryan Helsley is one of the most popular trade targets with no less than a half-dozen teams interested to varying degrees,” Feinsand wrote. “Among the suitors, per sources, are the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, and Blue Jays.”
This report coincides with many around the baseball world, like from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who mentioned how Helsley could be about 30 percent cheaper compared to other relievers in the market like Mason Miller, Jhoan Duran, and others. Still, the “expectation,” per Olney, is that St. Louis does trade Helsley.
“Or, for maybe 30 percent of the price, do you acquire the St. Louis Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley as a rental?” Rosenthal wrote. “Many teams would prefer Helsley, who is not quite what he was last season when he won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the best reliever in the National League, but is still pretty darned good.”
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley shares blunt reaction to trade talks
Despite the rumors, the Cardinals pitcher himself gave a high percentage that he is to be dealt by the trade deadline, even going as high as 90 percent, per Katie Woo of The Athletic. This season, Helsley sports a 3.00 ERA to go along with 41 strikeouts and 21 saves. Coming off that blunt response, MLB insider Jon Morosi would say to expect the Phillies to be “very aggressive” in pursuit.
“In some ways, they have overperformed their expectations, and yet they are still in a position where they are likely to be sellers, especially with Helsley, who is in the final year of his contract,” Morosi said on MLB Network last Friday. “Now, you think about the teams out there that are looking for bullpen help, I would mention right away, the Philadelphia Phillies, even though Helsley is a rental, I do believe they would be very aggressive in trying to get Helsley in a trade like this.”
At any rate, it remains to be seen where Helsley ends up or if he stays, despite the conviction from the 31-year-old, as the trade deadline is on Thursday evening.
