Former MLB Exec Reveals Cost for Phillies To Land Ryan Helsley From Cardinals

The Philadelphia Phillies have a few areas they would love to shore up ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline.

But, the one need that trumps all of the others is in their bullpen, where they desperately need some help late in games in high-leverage situations.

Losing Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez in free agency last winter was always going to be a tough blow to overcome. They didn’t anticipate also being without closer Jose Alvarado for 80 regular season games and the playoffs, should they qualify, after he was handed a suspension earlier in the season.

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That is a lot of talent and production to replace and the team has yet to find anyone capable of stepping up.

Their biggest addition to the bullpen, Jordan Roman, has been a disaster with a 7.44 ERA, being credited with three blown saves this year. 

He already has five outings this campaign in which he has been charged with at least three earned runs and another three he has surrendered at least two. Out of his 36 appearances, he has been scored upon in 11 of them.

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Adding at least one, if not two, relief pitchers ahead of the trade deadline who can help in late-game situations should be atop the to-do list for the Phillies in the coming weeks.

There could be several game-changing relievers available ahead of the deadline, depending on how teams perform coming out of the All-Star break.

One team that people will be keeping a close eye on is the St. Louis Cardinals, who could dangle one of those impact closers on the trade market: Ryan Helsley.

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He would be a massive upgrade for Philadelphia not only because he has late-game and high-leverage experience, but because he dominates left-handed hitters, another weakness this bullpen has been able to overcome.

Helsley has allowed an OPS of .596 against lefties this season in 65 plate appearances, actually performing better against them than right-handed hitters.

What could it cost the Phillies to acquire him from the Cardinals?

It won’t be cheap, in the opinion of Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), with him sharing that fair value would be parting with two prospects.

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“A reasonable return in a trade with the Phillies could be second baseman Aroon Escobar and outfielder Griffin Burkholder. MLB Pipeline ranks Escobar and Burkholder sixth and ninth, respectively, in the Phillies’ system,” the former MLB executive wrote.

Dave Dombrowski has shown he isn’t afraid to dip into his farm system and make a splash when the opportunity presents itself.

He did just that ahead of the 2024 deadline, acquiring Estevez from the Los Angeles Angels in a very similar situation.

The talented closer was set to hit free agency after the campaign, but that didn’t stop Dombrowski from sending two prospects to the Angels to acquire what he felt was the missing piece in the team’s bullpen.

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