Could The Milwaukee Brewers Land Ryan Helsley?

[Jake McKibbin]

Ryan Helsley plays for the St Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals seemed determined to sell this season, despite looking like a solid contender for the playoffs for most of the season. It's a "Major League" type of problem for a club looking to reset, but it could play to the Brewers' advantage.

Rumors are swirling that Ryan Helsley will be available at the deadline, and he could be the perfect complement to a Brewers bullpen that could perhaps strengthen its leverage spots. While Jared Koenig has performed admirably, he doesn't have the shutdown presence of Helsley, and a combination of the Cardinals bulldog with Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe could be truly devastating at the back end.

While Helsley has been one of the best closers in baseball over the last few seasons, his walk rates have shot up and he has been prone to some hard contact. He profiles quite like the 2025 Megill in that his fastball whiffs have dried up but he's using his slider more often to devastating effect.

His market will no doubt be strong, but his walk rates have surged and, by being a rental, the price may not be shockingly high for the Cardinals to part with their closer.

Would you want to see Ryan Helsley pitching for your Milwaukee Brewers? What would you be willing trade for the rental closer? 

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[nate82]

1 hour ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Would you want to see Ryan Helsley pitching for your Milwaukee Brewers? What would you be willing trade for the rental closer? 

No to all three.  I would rather spend on Felix Bautista or Gregory Soto over Helsley.  I just don’t want to give up anything meaningful prospect wise to the Cardinals.

[Madhawk23]

4 hours ago, nate82 said:

No to all three.  I would rather spend on Felix Bautista or Gregory Soto over Helsley.  I just don’t want to give up anything meaningful prospect wise to the Cardinals.

Do we know for sure if O's will be listening on Bautista at the deadline here?  I'm pretty sure he still has 3.5 years of service time left, correct?  So, guessing he's going to cost way too much for our liking in terms of prospect capital.  Just for giggles, what do we think it would take in terms of a prospect package to get him?  

[nate82]

9 minutes ago, Madhawk23 said:

Do we know for sure if O's will be listening on Bautista at the deadline here? 

Probably not but I would rather spend the prospects on him than Helsley.  Soto is probably a more realistic option as he is a FA after this season.

[RobertR]

The Cardinals aren't a "solid contender. "

Could they acquire Helsey in a trade? Sure. I expect they will look at relievers, but I wouldn't expect to pay any sort of premium for one 

[BrewerFan]

Yes. I think this is a quiet need for the Brewers. 

Getting a bit annoyed with the use of Ashby. I argued with wieguy about the Brewers using him just fine... that he came back, they kinda eased him in. The Dodgers game, I was fine with keeping him in even up 7-0, but this last time, they were up 5 or 6-0 vs the Mariners? 

That's the type of game you have Anderson for. 

Anyway, Ashby could be another high leverage reliever, but a guy who slots in before Mears? Or allows you to bring Uribe in for the 5th or 6th inning in a playoff game to kill a rally. I'd be all on board for that. 

[Scooterfletcher]

Spending any prospect whatsoever is ludicrous to do.  Even with two injuries we have better pitching in aaa than we would get via trade.

[cragi]

Yeah I just can't see dealing away any prospects for pitching when we are still trying to figure out where to put our overflow of quality starters 

[TURBO]

Tough to trade in the division, plus, I don't want to give up anything to the Cardinals that can come back and bite us the next few seasons.