St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley can see the writing on the wall. While the Cardinals got out to an encouraging start this season, the team has cratered in July and could look to sell ahead of the deadline, despite still being in the wild-card hunt.
With the team sitting 2.5 games out of the playoffs, Helsley expects to change franchises ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. When asked about his situation, he gave a blunt answer, saying it is “90 percent” likely he’ll be traded, per The Athletic.
“I would say it’s 90 percent I go, 10 percent I stay,” Helsley said.
It’s common for relievers to be dealt around the trade deadline. Every contender could use another bullpen arm, and strong relievers generally don’t cost much, at least not compared to star starters or position players.
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Helsley’s estimation of the situation could come as a surprise, considering the Cardinals are very much in the playoff race. At 53-51 entering Friday, there’s an argument that the team should add and make a second-half push for the postseason.
However, St. Louis’ recent play doesn’t offer hope that’s possible. The Cardinals have gone 6-12 in July and opened the second half by getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks and dropping a series against the Colorado Rockies. At a time when every team’s performance is magnified, the Cardinals aren’t showing much fight.
Helsley should draw plenty of value at the trade deadline. The fireballer has a 3.09 ERA over 35 innings, with a 25.5% strikeout rate and 20 saves. While those numbers are strong, they represent a slight decline for Helsley, who struck out nearly 30% of batters faced last year en route to a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves. That performance earned him his second All-Star appearance and some down-ballot Cy Young votes.
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There exists a scenario in which the Cardinals trade Helsley yet remain in contention. Relievers are easier to replace than most players, and trading for a major-league-ready player at another position could give the Cardinals the boost they need to contend in the second half.
Trading Helsley isn’t necessarily a white flag for the Cardinals, but the fact that he feels so certain he’s on his way out probably doesn’t bode well for the team’s chances.