Philadelphia Phillies Pressed to Consider Trade for Cardinals' Ryan Helsley

The Philadelphia Phillies have been pressed to consider a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Ryan Helsley.

Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) reacts to getting the final out against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

At this point in the MLB offseason, talks are beginning to heat up around the league. While a few players have already signed, the big rush has not started yet. The Philadelphia Phillies are a team to keep a very close eye on.

Even though the Phillies had a strong 2024 regular season, they're looking to make major moves. They were knocked out of the playoffs quickly and it was clear that they aren't quite good enough to win a championship.

Philadelphia needs to make a few strong additions in order to get to where they want to be.

Looking at the roster, there is one area that sticks out as a major need. The Phillies need to add some impact relief pitching. They might even need a new closer.

With that in mind, a potential trade option has been suggested that could make perfect sense for Philadelphia.

MLB insider Jim Bowden took a look at some trades that he would like to see happen during the MLB Winter Meetings. He would like to see the Phillies pull off a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for relief pitcher Ryan Helsley.

"The Cardinals are focused on rebuilding and the Phillies need a hard-throwing, impact reliever. The Phillies lost two key high-leverage relievers to free agency — Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez — and have made it a priority to address that area this offseason. Helsley won the Trevor Hoffman Award this year as the best closer/reliever in the National League, logging a 2.04 ERA with 49 saves and 79 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. The Cardinals wouldn’t be able to get top pitching prospect Andrew Painter or the Phillies’ top position player prospect, third baseman Aidan Miller, in a deal. But they are trying to move Nolan Arenado and his contract, so perhaps if they package him with Helsley they could get third baseman Alec Bohm from the Phillies, which would be a much better long-term situation for St. Louis."

A trade that would include both Helsley and Arenado heading to Philadelphia for Alec Bohm and other pieces could make a lot of sense for both teams.

During the 2024 MLB season with the Cardinals, Helsley ended up appearing in 65 games. He compiled a 7-4 record to go along with a 2.04 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, a 3.4 K/BB ratio, 49 saves, and just four blown saves.

Helsley would immediately be an upgrade at closer.

Arenado is not the player that he once was, but he still hit 16 home runs and drove in 71 RBI last season, while batting .272/.325/.394.

This is just an idea, but it's one that would make sense for the Phillies.

Will it happen? Probably not, but it could be a solid move for each team and give Philadelpia the help they need in the bullpen.