Insiders Address Cardinals Trade Deadline Plans, Ryan Helsley

What are the Cardinals going to do over the next few weeks?

Jun 9, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

What are the St. Louis Cardinals do ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline?

St. Louis has a 44-37 record with roughly five weeks to go before the deadline. Based simply on the record, it would be an easy suggestion for the club to roll with what they have or add more pieces. The Cardinals have been red-hot recently, aside from a loss against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Things aren’t simple for St. Louis, though. John Mozeliak is in his final year as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations. There already is going to be significant changes in the organization after the season ends, so it’s difficult to project how they will handle the present.

The Athletic’s Chad Jennings, Aaron Gleeman, and Tim Britton shared a column putting each team into tiers with the trade deadline approaching. St. Louis was called "Tier 4: Tailors" along with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. The trio specifically talked about how Ryan Helsley could bring back a "meaningful return."

"These three teams seem most clearly stuck between a short-term opportunity and a long-term plan," Jennings, Gleeman, and Britton said. "The Cardinals came into this season with a stated goal to rebuild, but have largely outperformed expectations. The Diamondbacks are very much alive, but they’re in a tough division, haven’t pitched as well as expected, and already lost Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery. And this week, Corbin Carroll hit the IL with a chip fracture in his left wrist...

"There’s little sense that any of these three teams is in position to completely rip their rosters apart — the Red Sox and Diamondbacks in particular are built around young hitters who aren’t going to be traded, and the Cardinals’ playoff odds aren’t all that different from the (Milwaukee Brewers) and (San Diego Padres) — but each could be selective in who they trade and how they reinforce. The Red Sox and Cardinals could trade their closers (Aroldis Chapman and Ryan Helsley) for a meaningful return, while entrusting the ninth inning to someone younger. The Diamondbacks could deal slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez, while opening the position for top prospect Jordan Lawlar."

There are just 35 days left until the trade deadline. But, who is counting?

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