Reports: Mets Acquire Star Cardinals Closer For Package of Prospects

Reports: Mets Bolster Bullpen, Trade for Ryan Helsley

The Mets will likely pair Helsley with Edwin Díaz to share the team’s closer role down the stretch. Helsley has a 3.00 ERA with 21 saves in 36 games this season. He is coming off a season where he led the league in saves with 49. The total set a Cardinals franchise record.

Díaz has a 1.48 ERA with 23 saves in 42 appearances this year. Díaz and Helsley will be the Mets’ primary late-inning arms. The Mets have the 11th-best bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.80. Helsley’s addition could put their bullpen into the discussion for best in the league.

Cardinals Looking Toward Future

The Cardinals have always maintained that this season was about setting themselves up for the future. Chaim Bloom will take over at the end of the season for John Mozeliak as President of Baseball Operations. Helsley is in the final year of his contract, and it is unclear if the Cardinals will be willing to spend on free agency this offseason. Last offseason, they only signed one MLB free agent — Phil Maton to be their eighth-inning bullpen arm.

The Cardinals are getting infielder Baez, right-handed pitcher Nate Dohm, and right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt. Baez headlines the group, as he is the Mets’ No. 7 prospect. He is in Single-A right now. Dohm is the Mets’ No. 14 prospect and is also in Single-A. Elissalt is also in Single A, but he is not one of the Mets’ top 30 prospects. Both Elissalt and Dohm were 2024 draft picks.

Helsley Heading into Free Agency

Helsley will pitch out the remainder of his contract with the Mets, then hit free agency. The 31-year-old likely will demand a high price as he has become one of MLB’s top relief pitchers.

Helsley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold this week that he would be open to re-signing with the Cardinals in the offseason even if they traded him.

“I’ve gotten close with a lot of these young guys, and I just feel like the tradition is here,” Helsley told Goold. “Knowing the past greats and getting the chance I’ve had to be involved in the community. All of that means something to me. It’s A to Z, top to bottom, all of the things that are involved with being a St. Louis Cardinal is appealing.”

The Cardinals are the closest team to Helsley’s home state of Oklahoma. However, even if he prefers to be with the Cardinals in the offseason, the organization may not be in a position to pay him.