Inside The Cardinals

Phillies Need To Trade For $81 Million Cardinals Star After Bullpen Collapse

The Phillies need to add Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals.
Zach Pressnell|
Aug 28, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts after striking out San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 28, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts after striking out San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia PhilliesSt. Louis Cardinals

The Philadelphia Phillies had a loaded bullpen last season, but they lost Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman in free agency and didn't adequately replace them. Philadelphia brought in Jordan Romano as the team's closer, but his time with the team has been nothing short of a disaster.

Through 11 appearances, Romano has one save and two blown saves. In 9 1/3 innings, the righty has allowed 15 hits, 14 earned runs, and three home runs, good for an ERA of 13.50 and a WHIP of 2.25. On Wednesday night, Romano blew his second save of the year in a walkoff loss to the New York Mets.

It's clear the Phillies need to find a reliable option to be the team's closer and the best option on the market is St. Louis Cardinals flame thrower Ryan Helsley.

The Cardinals are likely to trade Helsley because he's on an expiring contract and they're likely going to fall out of postseason contention in the near future. Once St. Louis begins shopping him, it's likely going to have plenty of teams vying for the righty's services.

So far this season, Helsley is three for four on save opportunities with a 2.25 ERA in eight innings.

The Phillies would need to do whatever they can, including trading multiple top prospects, to land Helsley from St. Louis. The bullpen issues in Philadelphia wouldn't be solved by acquiring the Cardinals' closer, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

More MLB: Cardinals Could Target Young Red Sox Star In Blockbuster Trade

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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