The St. Louis Cardinals missed the postseason again after finishing the 2024 campaign 83-79. Now, they will likely look to rebuild.
This means that they may ship out some veterans on expensive contracts or players on deals that are expiring after 2025.
Regardless, next year is likely to be a transitional year as opposed to one in which the Cardinals will compete for a spot in the postseason.
One move they could make is to trade All-Star closer Ryan Helsley. Josh Jacobs of FanSided noted that this was a possibility.
“Helsley is due for a massive payday next offseason, something I do not envision the Cardinals coming anywhere close to,” Jacobs wrote. “Instead, the Cardinals can look at recent examples of elite closers being moved in trades, like the Brewers shipping off of Josh Hader or the Cubs acquiring a rental Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees in 2016.”
If the Cardinals do rebuild, the deals centered around Chapman and Hader could serve as a blueprint for them to follow. They could ultimately model their reset after that of the New York Yankees back in 2016.
Helsley is somebody that could net them some Major League ready prospects in return that can help right away and possibly even expedite the process and get them back into contention by 2026.
In all likelihood, the team won’t be able to re-sign Helsley after 2025, so it does make sense to use him as a trade piece, especially if they are looking to enter a rebuild.
The Brewers and Yankees both received MLB ready pieces when they traded their All-Star closers, so St. Louis will likely be able to receive a nice haul for Helsley.
The right-hander led the Majors in saves with 49 and set the Cardinals all-time single season record in that category. Now is the perfect time for St. Louis to capitalize on his value.
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