Former Cardinals Star Ryan Helsley Opens Up About Free Agency

The St. Louis Cardinals don’t have many players scheduled to enter free agency this winter.

That is because the Cardinals traded pending free agents Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton away ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline. Right now, Miles Mikolas is the only current Cardinal scheduled to hit the open market.

Even though the Cardinals don't have many pending free agents, that doesn't mean that it won't be a long offseason. Chaim Bloom just took over as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations after a 78-84 season in John Mozeliak's final season leading the organization. His job is going to be trying to find a way to sustainably rebuild the team.

With that being said, one way that could help would be eyeing a player the Cardinals traded away this summer in Helsley once free agency opens. Helsley had success in St. Louis. He spent the first six-plus seasons of his career in St. Louis before he was traded to the New York Mets this summer. In 275 total appearances with the Cardinals, Helsley logged a 2.67 ERA and a 355-to-121 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 299 2/3 innings pitched. With the Mets, he had a 7.20 ERA in 22 appearances.

Could Ryan Helsley return?

Sep 1, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Mets pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the seventh inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Helsley recently opened up about his upcoming free agency to Will Sammon of The Athletic and noted that he hopes teams view him as a "backend" guy and that he would be open to listening to all 30 teams.

"Hopefully they see me as a backend guy,” Helsley said as transcribed by Sammon. “I feel like I’ve shown I can do that in my career over the last four seasons. I think the last month or so that I’ve struggled here, a lot of things can be attributed to it. And even the game’s greatest players go through it.

“In free agency, teams are more willing to pay you on ‘stuff.’ There are more things teams can quantify nowadays than ERA. Teams can dig deep and see what they like about guys. There are 30 teams out there, and I’ll be willing to listen to all of them.”

Around the trade deadline, Helsley didn't close any doors on a return. He made it clear that he would be "open" to the possibility if it were to come up. He struggled down the stretch, but maybe that could lower his price tag to a point that works for St. Louis. Spotrac currently has his market value projected to be just over $40 million across three seasons. For an All-Star-level closer, that seems perfectly fair. St. Louis already has some weapons in the bullpen but bringing him back into the fold should absolutely be considered.

More MLB: Cardinals 'Plan To Take A Look' At Possible Roster Upgrades, Per Insider