This Cardinals-Phillies Trade Would Send $8 Million Pitcher To Philadelphia

Last season, the St. Louis Cardinals were committed to winning with their veteran core of players. But after coming up short in the regular season, St. Louis seems to be committing to the full-scale rebuild that’s been chasing their franchise for years.

John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have already let Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn go through free agency. Now they could be moving even more players in offseason trades with the top name on their list being their closer Ryan Helsley.

Helsley was one of the most dominant closers in baseball in 2024, leading MLB in saves with 49 despite St. Louis not cracking into the postseason.

One team that makes a ton of sense for Helsley is the Philadelphia Phillies, who are set to lose Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman in free agency. The Phillies can likely bring one of these two right-handers back, but bringing both back is a long shot.

Here’s a trade proposal that could send Helsley to the Phillies:

• St. Louis Cardinals receive: RHP Mick Abel (No. 6 prospect), SS/2B Devin Saltiban (No. 9 prospect)
• Philadelphia Phillies receive: RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Miles Mikolas, Cash Considerations (Half Mikolas’ remaining contract)

With St. Louis looking to reset, finding a way to dump Miles Mikolas’ horrible contract is a huge “addition by subtraction” move for the team to make. The idea here is that St. Louis sends Mikolas to Philadelphia along with cash to pay for half his remaining contract. They also move Helsley to the Phillies in the deal.

Philadelphia would likely cut Mikolas and pay his contract off in this kind of trade. If the Phillies aren’t interested in this, the deal could be simplified by cutting Mikolas out completely and throwing in another top-10 prospect to St. Louis.

Abel is a former top-100 talent that completely fell off the map after struggling horribly last season. Still, he packs a ton of potential and would be a candidate to crack St. Louis’ rotation with a solid spring training.

Saltiban is a 19-year-old infielder who has the potential to be a true five-tool player down the line. He doesn’t do anything below average on the baseball field and he’s a very intriguing follow through the minor leagues.

Ultimately the Phillies had a great bullpen last season but they didn’t have a star closer. They’re looking to add one this winter and Helsley is the perfect candidate to get the team back to the top of the National League East.

Who says no?

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