By Rob Rains
The Cardinals on Wednesday made the first of what is expected to be multiple trades before Thursday’s deadline, sending closer Ryan Helsley to the Mets in exchange for three prospects.
They made their second deal a few hours later, trading Steven Matz to the Red Sox. ESPN reported that the Cardinals will receive first baseman Blaze Jordan in the deal.
Helsley and Matz were two of the three Cardinals relievers set to become a free agent at the end of the season and both were prepared to be traded – and spent the last couple of days just waiting to find out where he would be going.
Helsley, drafted by the Cardinals in 2015, was the longest tenured player in the organization.
The three prospects coming back to the Cardinals are 20-year-old shortstop Jesus Baez, who was ranked as the number eight prospect in the Mets organization by MLB.com, and two righthanded pitchers, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. Dohm was ranked by MLB.com as the Mets’ number 14 prospect and Elisasalt was not among their top 30 prospects.
All three had been playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones, their high A team, and are likely to be assigned to the Cardinals’ equivalent team, the Peoria Chiefs.
Helsley, 31, will join Edwin Diaz at the back end of the Mets’ bullpen as they battle the Phillies for the NL East title.
The Phillies also had been one of the teams known to have interest in Helsley, but they acquired Twins closer Jhoan Duran shortly before the Cardinals deal was completed with the Mets.
Duran comes with two more years of control, and he cost the Phillies two of the top prospects in baseball.
The Cardinals also were believed to have discussed Helsley with the Dodgers and Blue Jays.
The other Cardinal reliever set to be a free agent, Phil Maton, is expected to be traded before Thursday’s deadline, which is at 5 p.m. St. Louis time.
Helsley has saved 21 games this season after leading the National League with 49 saves in 2024, the most in franchise history. He had 105 career saves since making his Cardinals’ debut in 2019. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the fifth round in 2015 out of Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.
Matz. 34, was in the final year of a four-year deal with the Cardinals that was filled with injuries. Used primarily as a starter before this season, Matz appeared in 32 games, 30 of them in relief.
In exchange for Matz, the Cardinals are getting Jordan, a 22-year-old first baseman who was the Red Sox third round pick in the 2020 draft. He has split this season between Double A and Triple A, hitting a combined 12 home runs with 61 RBIs while posting a .304 average. MLB.com ranked him as the Red Sox’ number 17 prospect.
Baez was signed by the Mets as an international free agent in 2022. He had 10 homers and 42 RBIs this season. Dohm was the Mets’ third-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Mississippi State. He has split this season between low A and high A with 77 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings.
Elissalt was selected by the Mets in the 19th round of the 2024 draft out of Nova Southeastern University in Florida and has averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his pro career.
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Photo by the Associated Press
