Insider Addresses Cardinals Superstar Ryan Helsley Rumors

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the 2025 Major League Baseball with widely-held expectations that the club would eventually sell-off ahead of the trade deadline.

Many expected the Cardinals to have a tough season, but that simply hasn't been the case. The Cardinals have a 33-26 record and are in second place in the National League Central. St. Louis is playing like a team that wants a playoff spot, and that certainly isn't what some other teams around the league likely wanted to see.

ESPN's Jeff Passan shared a column in which he talked about each team ahead of the trade deadline. For the Cardinals, he mentioned Ryan Helsley as the guy to go if the Cardinals make any big trades, but also noted that doesn't seem likely right now.

"St. Louis Cardinals," Passan said. "Objective: Continue playing the best defense in MLB. If they were to unload someone, it could be: Right-handed reliever Ryan Helsley

"What to know: Here's the reaction from a general manager who was hoping St. Louis would start losing as expected: "It sucks." He wanted Helsey patrolling the back end of his bullpen, and he wanted the option to grab Steven Matz or Erick Fedde or Miles Mikolas. And because the Cardinals are playing a tremendous brand of baseball, none of those looks like an option at this point."

If the Cardinals keep playing the type of baseball that they did in May, it sounds like a good chance that Helsley sticks around at least through the end of the season.