Matt Higgins
The Philadelphia Phillies weren’t the only National League East team to trade for a dominant closer. According to multiple reports, the New York Mets have acquired two-time All-Star Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals.
In return, the Cardinals received multiple prospects: infielder Jesus Baez (New York’s No. 8 prospect), right-handed pitcher Nate Dohm (New York’s No. 14 prospect) and right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon. Those three players are not on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect list.
The Mets are sending Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt to the Cardinals in the deal for Ryan Helsley, league sources tells @TheAthletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) July 30, 2025
The trade comes after the Phillies swung a blockbuster deal for Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins.
This is the second trade the Mets made Wednesday for a reliever and the third this week. The Mets acquired submarine pitcher Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants earlier today and traded for southpaw Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles earlier this week.
Helsley and Rogers will help form a stellar trio in the backend of the bullpen Edwin Diaz, who will remain the team’s closer.
On the season, Helsley has a 3.00 ERA in 36 appearances with 41 strikeouts in 36 innings and 21 saves. He will be a free agent at the end of the year.
The Mets have solidified their already strong bullpen. New York relievers rank fifth in the National League in ERA (3.80), second in strikeouts (422) and seventh in batting average allowed (.239). Adding Helsley and Rogers makes the Mets more dangerous come October.
