The St. Louis Cardinals have been playing much better baseball as of late. After starting the year 14-19, they have won 12 of their last 14 games and are now five games above the .500 mark.
Whether or not it's sustainable is still yet to be determined, but it's unclear what their trade deadline strategy will be.
If they come back down to earth, Ryan Helsley could be traded as part of a fire sale. Plenty of teams will come calling for him if that's the case.
One team in particular that could use him is the Philadelphia Phillies, who just lost Jose Alvarado to an 80-game PED suspension. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports believes Helsley could be a good fit.
"Helsley has established himself as one of the sport's top relievers over the last few years, earning Cy Young Award consideration in both 2022 and 2024. Will he be made available at the deadline? That would seem to depend on how the Cardinals play over the next two months," Anderson wrote.
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Helsley owns a 2.81 ERA in 16 appearances and has saved nine games with St. Louis this year. He saved 49 games last year, setting a Cardinals franchise record en route to winning the National League Reliever of the Year award.
The right-hander is a free agent at the end of the year. Even if the Cardinals are in contention, he could bring back a haul of prospects, not unlike Josh Hader in 2022 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
If the Cardinals are in contention at the deadline, then they will likely hold onto him, but they need to restock the farm system with pitching prospects.
Trading Helsley will allow them to do just that, but it will depend on where they are come July 31.
We'll see what path the Cardinals take.
More MLB: Phillies trade idea lands 2-time All-Star to replace José Alvarado