The Cardinals fall 2-0 to the Marlins on July 31, but the real story is the trade of closer Ryan Helsley to the Mets. See why St. Louis is waving the flag on 2025.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
For Cardinals fans, Thursday was a tale of two losses. One was on the scoreboard, a frustrating 2-0 shutout at the hands of the Miami Marlins that felt painfully familiar. But the bigger loss, the one that truly defined the day and the rest of the season, happened off the field. The Cardinals have traded All-Star closer Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, a move that effectively lowers the curtain on any 2025 playoff aspirations and turns all eyes toward the future.
With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 55-55, dropping to fourth place in the NL Central and a full 10 games behind the division-leading Brewers.
The blockbuster deal sends one of baseball's most dominant relievers to a contender in exchange for a package of future potential. Coming to St. Louis are three minor leaguers: shortstop Jesus Baez and right-handed pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. Baez, just 20, is the centerpiece, a power-speed threat already at High-A. Dohm and Elissalt provide much-needed arms for a system that has seen its top pitching prospects battle injuries this year. While losing a talent like Helsley stings, the move is an undeniable signal from the front office that they are sellers at the deadline, looking to retool and build a new core for years to come.
As if to punctuate the front office's decision, the big-league club put on a lifeless offensive display against Miami. The lineup managed just four hits and struck out 10 times against Marlins pitching, led by a dominant Edward Cabrera. Cal Quantrill gave the Cardinals a chance, allowing only a two-run homer to Jesús Sánchez over five solid innings, but the bats never woke up. The team went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, a frustratingly common theme for a club now sitting at a perfectly mediocre 55-55.
While the present feels bleak, the focus on the future offers a silver lining. The newly acquired prospects will bolster a farm system that is showing promising signs. Coinciding with the trade, MLB Pipeline's latest rankings update highlighted the organization's strength at catcher, with three of the top five prospects playing the position, including Leonardo Bernal, who hit another home run for Double-A Springfield Thursday. The system's pitching depth is also improving, a crucial development given the injuries to top arms like Quinn Mathews and Tekoah Roby. The Helsley trade is a bet on this next wave of talent.
The rest of 2025 is no longer about chasing a playoff spot. It's about evaluation. Who will step up in the bullpen? Which young hitters will seize the opportunity for more playing time? The Helsley trade was a painful but necessary admission of where this team stands. For the fans, it means trading the thrill of a ninth-inning save for the patient hope of watching a new foundation being built, one prospect at a time.
