For a while, nobody knew if the St. Louis Cardinals would be interested in moving closer Ryan Helsley.
The St. Louis Cardinals are officially on board with trading two-time All-Star closer Ryan Helsley at the trade deadline.
The Cardinals were reluctant to make Helsley available although many playoff contending teams have shown interest in the hard-throwing right-hander.
Now, ESPN’s Buster Olney has reported that executives said the Cardinals appear “devoted” to moving Helsley.
“They weren't sure if closer Ryan Helsley, a free-agent-to-be, would be dealt. As recently as a few days ago, it was still unclear to some teams whether Helsley would be moved,” wrote Olney. “But on Tuesday morning, multiple executives said the Cardinals are exchanging names and appear devoted to moving Helsley, though the offers for him might not be as robust as they had hoped.”
“Helsley's strikeout rate is down this season, he's allowed a higher percentage of homers, and his ERA has climbed. "He's not having the lights-out season we've seen from him before," said one evaluator. The Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Mariners, Dodgers, Phillies and Blue Jays are among the contenders looking for relief help.”
St. Louis was keeping up with the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs in the National League Central but have lost six of their last 10 games and sit nine-games back from the Brewers.
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Though the Cardinals are just three-and-a-half games back from the third NL Wild Card spot, St. Louis just isn’t in position to compete this season.
They have vastly overperformed expectations coming into the season, but all signs point to a fire-sale in St. Louis.
Helsley, 31, is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 36 appearances this season. He has converted 21 of 26 save opportunities.
Expect Helsley and other expiring contracts to be on the move by the trade deadline.
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Category: Baseball
