Selling pieces off at the trade deadline is still a relatively foreign notion for the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans. But as the Cardinals entered the trade deadline buried in the standings, most fans agreed that trading their star closer, Ryan Helsley, was the correct action to take. The Cardinals obliged, dealing Helsley to the New York Mets for prospects Jesus Baez and Nate Dohm as well as throw-in piece Frank Elissalt.
Helsley had not been repeating his astounding 2024 season, where he had a major league-leading 49 saves and owned a 2.