MLB Insider Addresses Ryan Helsley's Future With Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the best closers in baseball and look like they made the right move, for now at least.

St. Louis was in trade rumors all offseason involving Ryan Helsley. This isn't shocking and was brought on itself. The Cardinals said they wanted to "reset" and initially talked about trading a handful of veterans. Helsley was coming off a season in which he had 49 saves and a 2.04 ERA so it's not shocking that he had some trade value.

As the offseason started to play out, it was clear the Cardinals weren't going to make as many moves as initially expected. Guys with no-trade clauses, like Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Miles Mikolas all were trade candidates but seemingly didn't want to go. So, the Cardinals ended up avoiding any big shakeups and that helped to keep Helsley in town.

He has appeared in 16 games on the season so far for St. Louis and has a 2.81 ERA to show for it to go along with nine saves. He's been great overall and has allowed just one earned run in his last six outings. His ERA was a little skewed early on, but he looks like the guy that was a game-changer last year.

So, what about his future in St. Louis? The Cardinals have turned things around of late and The Athletic's Jim Bowden said he's a "strong candidate" to be moved if the Cardinals start struggling again but noted that it is "unlikely."

"No. 2. Ryan Helsley, RHP, Cardinals," Bowden said. "Age: 30. SV: 9 IP: 16 SO: 16. ERA+: 151. Career WAR: 7.6. Helsley has struggled with control to start the season, walking 10 in 16 innings, but the hard-throwing righty has converted nine of 11 save opportunities and pitched to a 2.81 ERA. He was the best closer in the NL last season with a league-leading 49 saves and a 2.04 ERA over 65 appearances. He’s a strong candidate to be traded if St. Louis falls out of contention by late July, which seems unlikely at this point."