Cardinals Likely Trading All-Star If July Goes Poorly, Per Insider

How will the St. Louis Cardinals handle the trade deadline?

St. Louis is still very much in the playoff picture with the season more than halfway done.

Entering Thursday, the Cardinals were 47-41, five games back of the Chicago Cubs in the division and tied for the third National League wild-card spot with the San Diego Padres.

According to one MLB insider, whether the Cardinals decide to sell will depend on the team's performance in July, a factor that will determine the fate of St. Louis' veteran reliever.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently called Ryan Helsley the No. 6 reliever in Major League Baseball most likely to be traded and described the situation in St. Louis.

“The Cardinals are in the NL Central and NL wild-card races and appear closer to being a buyer than a seller,” Bowden wrote. “However, Helsley is eligible for free agency this offseason and St. Louis could decide that trading him at the deadline for future assets makes more sense than keeping him. How the team performs in July will determine if Helsley is dealt, according to one AL GM who has talked with the Cardinals.”

“Helsley, 30, has a 3.41 ERA over 29 appearances and 16 saves. Batters are hitting just .077 against his wipeout slider, although they’ve been teeing off on his 99 mph four-seamer, hitting .429 against that pitch.”

It sounds like Helsley might remain in a Cardinals uniform if his team has a strong month. For that to happen, St. Louis' bats are going to have to wake up. Not only did the Cards just fail to score a run in all three games of their sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the team has now gone 49 consecutive innings without scoring against a team in the NL Central.

As St. Louis waits for Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras to heal from injury and return to the lineup (hopefully soon), its pitching staff will try to limit damage.

Next up for the Cardinals is a series with the Cubs. Miles Mikolas will start on Friday.