Cardinals 'Dark Horse Candidate' To Replace Ryan Helsley Revealed

The St. Louis Cardinals may have discovered their replacement at closer.

Before delving into that, it’s important to acknowledge that Ryan Helsley hasn’t been traded, and might not be before July 31. But if he is, as noted by FanSided’s J.T. Buchheit, St. Louis might have a solution waiting in the wings already.

“If the Cardinals … sell off their assets at the deadline, closing pitcher Ryan Helsley is likely to bring back the most value to the team,” Buchheit wrote.

“If he is dealt, the Cardinals will need to find another stopper to finish games. People have floated out suggestions as to who the replacement closer could be, but one pitcher who has gained helium in recent weeks could be a dark horse candidate for the job.”

“Right-hander Riley O'Brien has pitched sensationally as of late and has emerged as a weapon at the back of the Cardinals' bullpen,” Buchheit continued. “He has not allowed a run in any of his last eight appearances, and he has 10 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. His five walks allowed in that span are a bit higher than most would like to see, and if he can rein those in, O'Brien could sit among the nastiest relief pitchers in the game.”

Buchheit then dove even deeper into O’Brien’s statistical impact.

“O’Brien's Stuff+, a stat that observes the physical characteristics of a pitch, is 114, with 100 as the average. That sits behind only Helsley as the best in the bullpen for the Cardinals. His Baseball Savant page indicates that his fastball velocity is elite, with an average of 97.8 mph, and his extension is excellent as well, at an average of 7 feet. This means that batters have less time to react to O'Brien's already zippy fastball because he releases it closer to the plate than most other pitchers do.”

The Cardinals acquired O’Brien, 30, from the Seattle Mariners in November 2023. He missed four months of last season due to flexor tendon problems, but now that he’s healthy, O’Brien is showing what he can do.

O’Brien is older than most Cardinals fans probably expect, but that doesn’t mean as much if he’s ready to contribute in a big way right now, which appears to be the case.

What does the future hold for O’Brien? Will he step into a larger role, and if so, will St. Louis make him a part of its future?

We’ll know soon enough.