Texas Rangers Predicted To Trade for Star St. Louis Cardinals Closer

The Texas Rangers were recently named the likely landing spot for the St. Louis Cardinals superstar closer.

Sep 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts after closing out the ninth inning in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have almost completely reworked their bullpen this winter, but they still might not be done as they still search for a shutdown closer.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller thinks that their inaction could eventually lead to a major swing as he recently predicted they will trade for St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley at some point this season.

Helsley has become one of the best closers in all of baseball, leading MLB with 49 saves last year, and could be a victim of the Cardinals recent youth movement.

He is in the final season before free agency, and it doesn't look like bringing him back will be a priority for St. Louis since they have eyes on the future.

It would make much more sense for the Cardinals to trade him away and pick up something of value, but that could also depend on how they are doing by the time the trade deadline rolls around.

The Rangers could luck out after missing out on other closing options and end up being in the perfect spot to trade for one of the league's best.

Helsley has been an All-Star in two of the last three seasons with an outstanding 1.83 ERA, 0.954 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 in that time. He does everything an elite closer is supposed to do.

As things stand right now, it looks like it will be a platoon of Chris Martin and others taking over the closing duties for Texas.

Martin is a proven solid option out of the bullpen, but even he isn't a proven closer.

In 369 career appearances, he has just 14 saves.

Robert Garcia, who was acquired in the Nathaniel Lowe trade with the Washington Nationals, could be another option to finish games. He has never made a save, though.

It is this confusing mix of talented relief options but no real tested closer that makes adding Helsely still seem like a smart move.

They lucked out with Kirby Yates last year, who picked up 33 saves in an All-Star campaign. It could be that they are hoping to repeat that success with Martin, another aging veteran signed to a one-year deal, but Yates at least had spent a season as a closer before.

Trading for Helsley would bring some peace of mind with a proven star and could put them in a great spot to sign him for the long term when he becomes a free agent after the season.