Jul 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrates after defeating the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Patrick Gorski
According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Phillies are one of six teams known to be interested in St. Louis Cardinals' closer Ryan Helsley:
Ryan Helsley is one of the most popular trade targets with no less than a half-dozen teams interested to varying degrees. Among the suitors, per sources, are the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers and Blue Jays.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 29, 2025
Since Feinsand's report, the Blue Jays have acquired former Phillie Seranthony Domíguez from the Baltimore Orioles. That doesn't necessarily take them out of the Helsley sweepstakes, but it might mean they aren't as motivated as a club like the Phillies to part with the necessary prospects to ultimately land the reigning Trevor Hoffman Award winner.
A year ago, Helsley led baseball with 49 saves, posting a 2.04 ERA and 2.41 FIP across 65 games. He finished ninth in NL Cy Young Award voting, while also making his second career All-Star Game appearance.
However, after posting a 1.83 ERA and 2.35 FIP between 2022 and 2024, Helsley has a 3.00 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 36 games this season. He still has 21 saves and would represent an upgrade for a needy Phillies' bullpen in the ninth inning. The problem with trying to evaluate to what extent Helsley would be an upgrade is that his fastball is still averaging 99.3 mph. But as you can see from his Baseball Savant page, his fastball has been much less effective than it was a year ago:
Helsley's slider remains a nasty pitch, but considering he mostly utilizes just the fastball and slider — he mixes in a cutter and curveball about a combined 7.5% of the time — he needs the fastball to be more effective to truly be at his best. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham would surely welcome the challenge of trying to get Helsley's fastball back to a point where it's more effective, but that can be a difficult thing to do in the middle of the season.
Still, the fact that Helsley isn't pitching as well as he did a year ago and that he's a rental — as opposed to other potential closer options like Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax and Cade Smith — could mean he's more affordable. Of course, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski would be back at the drawing board in the offseason if Helsley was acquired in a trade. But while the Cardinals certainly aren't going to give Helsley away, landing him likely wouldn't require giving up shortstop Aidan Miller or catcher Eduardo Tait, among other prospects that could be on the move for a controllable closer.
Of course, the irony in all of this is that this era of Phillies baseball really got going in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2022 NLWCS, when the Phillies scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Helsley (who had a blister on his right middle finger) and Andre Pallante. It would be quite the story if Helsley wound up being the addition that finally allowed this era of the Phillies to get over the top in October.
