When the St. Louis Cardinals parted with Ryan Helsley at the trade deadline, they never really found their long-term replacement for the flamethrowing closer.
Sure, JoJo Romero and Riley O'Brien handled the majority of the save opportunities in the final months of the campaign, but there's no obvious in-house candidate who is ready to fill Helsley's shoes, at least not yet.
Thus, barring a developmental breakout from Gordon Graceffo, the Cardinals will need to turn their attention toward free agency to fill their ninth-inning role in 2026.
We've already analyzed Brad Keller's fit with the Cardinals and how St.