The Philadelphia Phillies have an obvious issue that needs correction at the trade deadline.
All season, the Phillies have lacked a true closer. It reared its ugly head early and often when Jordan Romano took the job out of spring training, and after the job came back to Romano by default, he once again cost them with a three-run implosion on Tuesday night to seal a loss in San Francisco.
There are usually a few potential closers available at the trade deadline from teams languishing near the bottom of the standings, but this year, the options aren't all that appealing.
That's why one baseball insider believes the Phillies could make a bold play for the two-time All-Star closer from the St. Louis Cardinals.
On Wednesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic proposed a hypothetical three-player trade in which the Phillies would get Ryan Helsley, and the Cardinals would get two of Philadelphia's top 10 prospects.
"Helsley has a 3.30 ERA, a 3.79 FIP and 17 saves in 22 opportunities this season. He’s in his free-agent walk year and the Cardinals are still within striking distance," Bowden wrote.
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"A reasonable return in a trade with the Phillies could be second baseman Aroon Escobar and outfielder Griffin Burkholder. MLB Pipeline ranks Escobar and Burkholder sixth and ninth, respectively, in the Phillies’ system."
Helsley, the two-time National League reliever of the year, would instantly become a much better option for the Phillies at closer, and the type of player worth giving up top prospects to obtain.
The Cardinals are only 1.5 games out of the Wild Card picture as of Wednesday morning. But they've been trying all along to retool the roster to contend in later years, and moving Helsley (and his $8 million salary) before he can walk is good business.
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