Philadelphia Phillies 'Keeping a Close Eye' On St. Louis Cardinal Superstar Closer

The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly keeping a close eye on the trade market for the star closer from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Apr 22, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) pitches the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Truist Park. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen has been extremely uneven to start this season it looks like the team is open to making some moves to address the issue.

MLB insider Bob Nightengale recently noted that the Phillies are among teams that are "keeping a close eye" on the trade market for St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.

The Cardinals have begun a rebuild and are not looking to be contenders this season, which makes Helsley a prime candidate to be traded at this year's deadline.

The 30-year-old is headed to free agency next year and is not likely to be brought back, so trading him away and getting something in return makes the most sense.

Helsley has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last few years. Since the start of 2022 he has an ERA of just 1.92 with a 214 ERA+, 0.991 WHIP and 11.9 K/9.

He led all MLB closers with 49 saves a year ago, with St. Louis going 59-6 in games that he appeared in.

So far this year, he has taken a slight step back. Strikeouts have been harder to come by and his control has been an issue. That doesn't usually point to winning baseball.

The Oklahoma native has a 3.60 ERA, 117 ERA+, 7.2 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 so far this year. It's not ideal, but he has earned some benefit of doubt that he will be able to turn it back around.

His stuff is still there in his slider and curveball, but his fastball needs some tweaking. He should be fine as the season goes along.

Adding a player at Helsley's level, even in a bit of a down year would be massive for the Phillies. Their bullpen is not even close to being ready for the postseason.

Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks have all been at least fine to start this year. Everyone else has an ERA of at least 5.02.

Alvarado has had to step back into the closer role out of necessity, as offseason acquisition Jordan Romano has been disappointing with an ERA of 13.50.

Philadelphia is going to have to be active in the trade market and Helsley would be a great place to start.

He would be able to slide into that closing role and allow the Phillies to be more flexible with Strahm and Alvarado, which is what they would rather be doing.