Cardinals trade deadline takeaways: 3 reliever trades cap St. Louis sell-off

New York Times

4 days ago

SAN DIEGO — For the second time in three seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals were sellers at Thursday's trade deadline. They shipped off Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz and Phil Maton, three relievers all of whom were on expiring deals.
Starting pitcher Erick Fedde, who was designated for assignment last week, was previously traded to the Braves for cash or a player to be named.
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The deals came as no surprise. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak met with reporters twice in July, and both times said if the organization sold, it would likely only involve players on expiring deals.
Multiple teams inquired about various position players with multiple years of team control remaining, including Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson. But, according to a team source, St. Louis did not seriously entertain those offers.
Here's what you need to know about the Cardinals' trade activities.
The Cardinals began their sell-off by sending long-time closer Helsley to the New York Mets on Wednesday. Shortly after, Matz was dealt to the Boston Red Sox. Maton was traded to the Texas Rangers minutes before Thursday's deadline.
St. Louis landed prospects for each.
The Mets sent shortstop Jesus Baez and right-handers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt to St. Louis in exchange for Helsley. Baez entered the season listed as the Mets' seventh-ranked prospect and Dohm at No. 17, per The Athletic's Keith Law. All three prospects were playing for the Mets' High-A affiliate, and all three will join High-A Peoria.
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Blaze Jordan, a corner infielder in Triple A, was the lone return for Matz. He has an .820 OPS with six homers and 11 doubles over 44 games after being promoted midway through the season. Jordan was added to Triple-A Memphis' roster on Thursday.
For Maton, the Cardinals landed minor-league pitching prospects Mason Molina (no relation to Yadier) and Skylar Hales, plus international money. Left-hander Molina, 22, has made 18 appearances (17 starts) in A-ball this year and owns a 3.41 ERA with 92 strikeouts over 74 innings. Righty Hales, the Rangers' fourth-round pick in 2023, has struggled in Double and Triple A with a 7.64 ERA over 34 games this season. But the Cardinals will need to backfill their depth in Memphis with three relievers needing to be promoted to the major-league club in the absence of Helsley, Matz and Maton.
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That is a work in progress. Helsley, Maton and Matz were instrumental in the Cardinals bullpen's success, propelling them to the sixth-best relief ERA in baseball at 3.54. Manager Oli Marmol will now be without his three top weapons. He has options to fill the back-end, but none of them have experience in the closer role.
Gordon Graceffo, who was recalled from Triple A when left-hander John King hit the IL (left oblique strain), projects to be the favorite for save situations. Right-hander Kyle Leahy and left-hander JoJo Romero have prior experience in late-inning scenarios and will take over the set-up roles for their respective handedness. Riley O'Brien has emerged as a viable right-hander as well.
St. Louis will need to fill three open spots in the rotation. Ryan Fernandez, who was excellent in his rookie season last year but was optioned to Triple A after a ghastly April, will be considered. He has a 3.12 ERA in Triple A over 29 appearances and has racked up 49 strikeouts over 34 2/3 innings. Chris Roycroft is another option. The club will also likely give Andre Granillo another look when he's eligible to be recalled; he was optioned to Memphis on Monday. With three open spots on the 40-man roster, St. Louis can be creative with whom it selects.
It's fair to question why the Cardinals did not seriously entertain rival teams' interests on players with multiple years of control, especially if the focus is on the future. The perceived value of Donovan, for example, has never been higher. But the Cardinals tend to be risk-averse, to put it mildly, and did not seem inclined to move any of their position players from the start.
The dynamic between outgoing Mozeliak and incoming Chaim Bloom also complicates matters, as much as St. Louis will insist otherwise. Mozeliak's departure at the end of the season could have played into the organization's decision to only trade pending free agents. Letting Bloom make the final call regarding the players he will inherit makes sense, though the Cardinals obviously risk not capitalizing on a seller's market.
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The final two months of the season will be firmly set on development. Expect to see more of Iván Herrera in left field and increased playing time for Nolan Gorman when he returns from the IL, which could be as early as Friday ahead of the Cardinals' three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt, who is tearing the cover off the ball in Triple A, could be under consideration for a late-season call-up as well.
After attempting to balance player development with team results, the Cardinals have accepted their fate for 2025. The real push for the future begins now — with no timetable as to how long it will be before one of baseball's winningest franchises returns to contention.
(Photo of Helsley: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)