The Mets continue to load up in the late innings. New York announced the acquisition of Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals for infield prospect Jesus Baez and minor league pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. It’s the third relief pickup of the week for the Mets, who had already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from Baltimore and paid a hefty price to get submariner Tyler Rogers from the Giants. They had an opening on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.
Helsley adds another power arm to the late innings. His fastball sits above 99 MPH on average. Opponents have nevertheless had a field day against the heater this season, batting .406 and slugging .522. They’ve had no success against Helsley’s upper 80s slider, which he turns to as often as he goes to the fastball. The end result is an even 3.00 earned run average across 36 innings. The righty has fanned an above-average 26.1% of batters faced behind a massive 16.1% swinging strike rate.
This is Helsley’s fourth consecutive season of strong production. He first assumed the Cardinals’ closing role in 2022 and has successfully nailed down 103 saves out of 121 tries over the past three-plus years. Helsley posted a 2.45 ERA or better in each season from 2021-23. He began this season a little slowly, allowing 3.60 earned runs per nine with eight walks and 10 strikeouts through the end of April. He has reeled off a 2.77 ERA with plus strikeout (27.4%) and walk (5.3%) percentages going back to May 1.
After a few seasons in the ninth inning, Helsley will move to a setup role in Queens. He’ll likely be Carlos Mendoza’s top leverage arm in the bridge to Edwin Díaz. Rogers may not be far behind him in the pecking order. Helsley and Rogers are each excellent relievers but couldn’t be more different stylistically. Mendoza will have a few different looks in what now seems to be one of the deepest bullpens in the game. Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Soto all bring plus velocity in the middle relief group.
The 31-year-old Helsley is playing on an $8.2MM salary for his final season of arbitration. The Mets will pick up the remaining $2.65MM. They’re taxed at a 110% rate on all expenditures, so they’ll pay nearly $3MM in taxes on top of the money owed to Helsley. It’s an approximate $5.6MM investment. Helsley will be a free agent at season’s end. That’s also true of Stanek, Rogers, Soto and probably Díaz (who can opt out of the remaining two years and $37MM on his contract). New York holds a club option on southpaw Brooks Raley. There’ll be a lot of turnover next season, but it’s a high-octane group for the stretch run.
The Mets are loading up at the same time as the Phillies are dealing two highly-regarded prospects for Minnesota’s star closer, Jhoan Duran. Philadelphia is percentage points above New York in what should be a fantastic NL East race. The Mets have also been linked to center field upgrades — Luis Robert Jr., most prominently — and could turn their attention to the lineup over the final 22 hours before the deadline.
On the other end, the Cardinals are parting with a player who has spent a decade in the organization. Helsley was a fifth-round pick in 2015 and has spent parts of seven seasons with the big league club. The Cardinals curiously opted not to trade him last offseason despite cutting payroll and viewing 2025 primarily as an evaluation year for their young players. St. Louis hung around the playoff mix for a while, but an 8-15 record in July has sealed their fate as deadline sellers.
Helsley acknowledged last week that a trade was coming. While he’d spoken a few times about wanting to sign an extension with St. Louis, the team never seemed to reciprocate the interest. They weren’t especially likely to make him a qualifying offer that should land north of $22MM. (Teams cannot make a QO to players acquired midseason, so the trade ensures that Helsley will hit free agency unencumbered.) The Cards have dropped close to .500 and sit five games back in the Wild Card picture, making a trade inevitable.
In all likelihood, they’re getting a slightly lesser return than they would have received had they shopped Helsley over the winter. Baez, a 20-year-old infielder, is the headliner. He placed in the back half of the Mets’ top 10 prospects at both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs slotted him 15th in his organizational writeup last June.
The righty-hitting Baez impresses evaluators with his bat speed and contact skills. That comes with a tendency to expand the strike zone that alarms some scouts, though, and Baez is not expected to have the requisite athleticism to stick at shortstop. He’s a potential regular at third base who remains at least a couple years from big league readiness. Baez is playing in a pitcher-friendly setting in High-A, batting .242/.332/.390 with 10 home runs and a lower than average 16.3% strikeout rate.
Dohm, a 6’4″ right-hander, was New York’s third-round pick last summer. The Mississippi State product has combined for a 2.87 ERA with a near-29% strikeout rate in 18 starts in the low minors. He ranked 14th in the system at MLB Pipeline but was further down at BA (25th) and FanGraphs (42nd). Dohm battled forearm injuries in college and faces some durability questions. He leans most heavily on a potential plus fastball while mixing in a slider and curveball. There’s a decent chance he’ll wind up in relief, but the Cards will presumably continue developing him as a starter.
Ellisalt was New York’s 19th-round pick last summer. FanGraphs ranked him 43rd in the system, writing that his fastball/slider combination gives him a shot to be a middle reliever if his command becomes passable. He’s a 23-year-old reliever with a 3.04 ERA and strong 29% strikeout rate against younger competition between two A-ball levels.
This’ll be the first of multiple subtractions from the St. Louis bullpen. Impending free agents Phil Maton and Steven Matz should both be moved. Lefty JoJo Romero has an additional season of arbitration control but could be dealt as well. None of those players will command as strong a return as Helsley did, but the Cards could add a few more mid-tier prospects to the farm system by tomorrow evening.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Mets were closing in on a deal for Helsley. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com confirmed the deal was in place and was first with Baez as the headliner of a three-player package. Heyman was first on Ellisalt and Dohm. Image courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images.
Dodgers?… where we at? Mason Miller? Jax maybe?
Bednar
Great job by the Mets here. Probably the cheaper way to go instead of Bednar or Miller.
I’m not convinced A’s want to trade Miller. Fisher may want to open the new Vegas ballpark with some name recognition in Rooker, Kurtz, Miller, etc.
YBC- yes I agree with you here. Don’t forget though David Bednar is still out there. He would definitely be cheaper then Mason Miller also. We’ll see.
I don’t disagree in theory but are there many people buying tickets to watch Mason Miller? On a team without a winning record in how long? This isn’t steroid Eric Gagne with the Guns and Roses blarring etc.
I’d think you would want a starter or hitter in that role but more importantly, a winning/competing team.
Miller could lay some foundation to that by trading him.
What do I know though? I think the same of Skenes as well. One guy could reload your young, controllable talent to win down the road with and you want to lose with a great player? I don’t get it.
A should trade Miller. Some teams want him as starter. Even as reliever the return could change your franchise. You are getting a potential mvp cy young or 2 potential all stars for him minimum. Just don’t trade him to Atlanta.
Why not Atlanta?
Underwhelming in years past.
Rental vs extra years most probable cheaper. Although they paid a lot.
I figured Duran would be more valuable than Bednar. Guess I was wrong.
Pirates don’t have to trade Bednar and don’t want to. Cherington won’t overvalue a prospect just because he is a catcher.
going to guess Bautista or Cano for a huge haul to the Os.
Cano won’t get you much.
i could see them dangling one of their low minors OF (since they have a ton of low minors toolsy OF). Not hope or Depaula (and not likely Quintero) but guys like Ko, Sirota, or George- who are already behind guys in the bigs like Pages, and well behind Hope and De Paula- and Tuninik and Elkins still in the low minors of the system…. Elias loves his less heralded high minors SP- So Henrequez could also be an option (or the major piece). I am not expecting a ton
1-5, 5.40 ERA, Bautista injured.
Miller is going to have to get out that park to retain value. Three seasons of 4 ERA won’t exactly make him attractive.
Hopefully teams won’t be looking at his era and would be capable of realizing the park hurt it.
Jax is overrated. His ERA and WHIP are average, and he couldn’t get an out vs. the Red Sox today.
Ah yes. Judge a reliever in a non save situation when his name is being brandied about in trades. Good assessment. (Sarcasm)
Teams shouldn’t even look at Jax era whip and wouldn’t care what he did today unless he got hurt.
Kwon & Smith nothing to flashy this year.
Try like Finnegan if they’re lucky
LA has a closer in waiting. Kike Hernandez.
And he’s a two-way player ta boot!
Save some for the rest of the teams.
NOOO. Go get more bullpen arms and trade more second tier prospects.
Big win now move
Let the fun begin !! Hopefully it’s not for another small infielder !
I wonder who they trading now.
Judge me by my size do you
lol I’m 5’8 so no short shaming here but all of our infield guys are like 5’10 ish.
I was just dreaming of a 6’4 Brady House type … sorry for dreaming, ha
The Yoda reference went by him.
Yes I did … continuing to embarrass myself on the chat
ok, then you do not want Jett Williams (their best prospect) who i think is either 5’6 or 5’7
Kids gonna mash post puberty
Jett Williams isn’t their best prospect
mlb.com/milb/prospects/mets/
MLB Pipeline and Baseball America seem to think he is.
And 1 of the 3 is lol. Cardinals love their small infielders
Those small infielder are pretty good sometimes! The pitchers they got back have put up decent numbers in the minors. Like this deal more than others they’ve worked in recent years
Mets putting together a dominant pen.
Like the one the Padres already have!
RIGHT! You guys have an awesome pen.
5 runs off Cease, one off Bergert and one off the ‘pen in this 3 game set. Cheers Brett, hope we meet in the Postseason!
Wonder who we gave up
just read ot
it
Right. They gave up Mel Ott.
A whole new bullpen.
Desperately needed. Soto, Rogers, and Helsley added to Diaz, Garrett, Raley, and Stanek. Not a bad bullpen to make a playoff push.
and Megill when he comes back
maybe overpaid for Rogers, the combined cost for Soto, Rogers & Helsey seems quite reasonable
Holmes might be out back in the bullpen.
Soto is “meh” on a good day
He dominates left handed hitters. He isn’t asked to close out games.
Gregory Soto aka Gregory “So-so”
Very interesting. The bullpen has been their biggest issue and Stearns seems hellbent on addressing it.
And stearns didnt have to part with someone like vientos or acuna in order to get a deal done, huge win for the mets
Nor did they have to part with any of their consensus top five or six prospects (Jett Williams, Nolan McLean, Tong, Sproat, Benge, Clifford).
Dominant relief pitching is very valuable in the playoffs
That bullpen choked away a winnable game Tuesday night. Less than 24 hours later, they got shut out on 3 hits in the getaway game and reverted to LOLmets.
woah
Damn, Mets backend BP looking loaded all of a sudden.
Everyone but the Cubs nice! Discount Jed must be dumpster diving! Maybe hitting the clearance section
Cubs to interested in their precious prospects, instead of going for a pennant this year they are still looking way down the road instead of what is right in front of them.. Someone better tell the Cubs that you can’t expect to get the top players with out giving up top 5 to 10 prospects.,
The Cardinals just gave up Helsley for nothing.
Or maybe the Cubs didn’t want the Cardinals benefitting from their prospects and vice versa?
What do you mean nothing? They should be stacked at Peoria.
I totally agree with you sir. Bozo is really trying to screw up this trade deadline for us by excepting such a weak trade for what most experts considered to be our strongest trade chip by letting helsley go for nothing in return!
While everyone else was negotiating trades Jed was doing his own deal!
Os are sellers and would still move Akin and/or Kittleridge- kittleridge will likely be a top 250 prospect (or less, like an org #30 or a FV 35 in he low minors) and take on the whole contract
This should be interesting. Maybe Acuña or Baty is involved.
Maybe vientos for some reason? Cards have a ton of players available. Maybe they could add money and send you guys arenado lol
Arenado is no better than Baty or Vientos at this point. All age and no upside. Cardinals are stuck with him.
And Arenado’s been linked with Houston but invoked his no-trade clause to block the move.
Looks like Jesus Baez, who is very young but has high upside.
Been updated: None of them, it turns out. Baez, Dohm, and Elissault. All talented, but still in lower levels where the Mets have a lot of similar players to the ones they gave up here.,
Yup, I applaud this comment and this trade. Acquiring two great relievers and losing 3 games to the Padres is the ultimate in conflicting fan feelings.
I guess it is your next move Phillies.
I’m sure they’re just worried about their own clubs, but it does seem like they’ve gone t¡t-for-tat today!
The Phillies have acquired Duran from the Twins
Captain Obvious is in the house!
Steve Cohem partying like it’s 2022.
I wish this were the Yankees. Doesn’t seem like too steep a return although I’m admittedly not that familiar with the two going back the other way.
I hear ya, Clip.
At the very least we know Cashman will win for best Market Monitor.
“We left no stones unturned. The market presented us boulders and we didn’t feel we wanted to spend the resources to lift them and rob Peter to pay Paul. The group here now and in rehab are capable and we feel pretty good about them.”
And the Oscar for Best Prospecthugger goes to…
*riiiiipppp*
Brian Cashman!!
“Yo, Brian, I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but David had one of the best deadlines of all time,”
YanKanyeBleacherCreature haha, cheers fellas. Lots of time left…
Still waiting on that pitching move. Or is Cash just content with the returns of Gil, Leiter, and Cruz.
Baez doubtful SS but should be everyday 3b 2b even occasional all star. Not a top 10 20 even 50 prospect so could be nothing as they could as well. But as nice a prospect a rental reliever is going to get you today especially when you also get potential mid rotation starter with a floor of a good reliever and another potential reliever. It’s a strong return but not crazy.
Helsey would be a huge get for the Mets.
He’s already got.
“Small market” cardinals about to get another free comp pick just because
Atkins hello you might want to check your phone
Maybe only “one bar” on the Rogers cell network….
Lol maybe although if it was Bell there wouldn’t be any service
Nice. Even LFGMets can’t whine about this one.
You sure about that? haha.
Give him a few minutes, he’s eating paint chips
He’s probably over on SNY posting in every article with multiple user names how Stearns should be fired and Lindor and Soto should be released.
Hey, congrats to my NY brethren. Helsley has been my favorite non-Yankee reliever for awhile. I’m sure he’s going to be awesome for you guys.
Need to fix that fastball quickly.
@Blue Baron if you paid attention to my comments, Helsly was at the top of my list with Duran. This is a great move
Good job Cashman way to be proactive on getting a RP
We all know Cashman is looking at mid level BP guys on the cheap. Guys who have one good pitch. He will make them throw it 60 straight times.
lol trust me i know. Cashmans probably under selling on all top targets just to claim they got Yankees taxed again and we get a guy with a 4.78 era for our 9th ranked prospect
He doesn’t have the killer instinct to put the Yankees over the top. Always judging based on their “internal analytical valuations.”
Too scared to buy too scared to sell. For 300MM annually this team is buns. Wish Hal would nut up and fire Cash at this point
Cashman has been paying strong prices so far. Just hasn’t been on the bigger expensive trade pieces. Lots of relievers available. Can see him going for lesser ones to keep his better prospects. Jones will get anyone he wants though so he can do it.
NL East arms race let’s goooooo
Dang, was hoping the M’s were looking to add Helsley as an impact righty. Mets have totally revamped their BP.
Crazy how Mets can keep their top prospects, but Yankees get screwed over.
mlbnyyfan: Mets have a deeper and better system than the Yankees now.
Where did the screw over happen???
That’s because Cashman refuses to move their top prospects + the Yankees have a bottom third farm system. Tough to get a deal done when the select few “top prospects” the Yankees might be offering might not even make another team’s top 10 prospects.
Do. The. Math.
Mets. Better. Prospects.
Mets. Deeper System.
Honestly judging the systems is a bit subjective, and a lot of it this season is based on where the Yankees are at. As far as trades go, Cashman can get whoever he wants, he’s proven that time and again regardless of the prospects anyway. This season, it doesn’t seem like it’s worth going all in. If we can make with a few small additions, fine. So no one is balking at the Yanks because I doubt Cashman is offering out his best.
NYY have too high opinion of their prospect. Cashman can be unrealistic. Teams will deal with them if they have to but you got guys like DD Cherington Preller trader Jerry etc who are open minded on anything and wheel and deal with ease so no need to mess around with Yankees if you don’t have to. Stearns obviously easy to deal with. He gave strong returns. Let’s get this done today.
That’s mainly because bozo & the FO are completely trying to screw the Cardinals franchise both now & future before Bozo turns the team over to bloom at the end of this season!
This is a good trade. If the met succeed that’s fantastic if they fail then in the off-season, they could easily trade some current major league, players for early minor league talent.
Wow the prospects could have been a lot worse. Can live with that.
We are on board. I was dreaming of a killer close out bullpen. This exceeds my wildest dreams.
We need it considering the starters only go 5 for the most part.
Manaea and peterson should go deeper in the playoffs and senga who knows, but at least they’ll be quality innings.
I do love the pen now though
Complete 180 from just last week
I want a starter and maybe Robert as well. I would keep Mauricio and Vientos and trade Acuña and/or Baty in the right deal.
I was sitting hard on Helsley and JoJo Romero to the Mets for high quality juice,
Wasted my Cards deadline wish. They will flub JoJo alone or fail to extend him.
2 month rental so hard to get worse. But much less than non rental.
last season reaching the post season was still borderline at deadline. Different now and maybe we are seeing Stearns unleashed. Need a starter of significance still. Holmes innings and drop off doesn’t appear to be a fluke
I think we have better arms in AAA than we can trade for,
But are those arms ready yet????
At least McLean looks more than ready. If there was an ace available it would be a different story.
Get a SP and move Holmes to the BP and it will be the most stacked BP we’ve ever had. Its towards the top stacked as it is
let’s get some bats after that great move ❤️❤️❤️
Their biggest need is hitting, so they stock up on rental arms for the bullpen. That’s how you LOLmets.
Damn the Bluejays really needed him!
We have to get Bednar,is so much better
Another 3 for 1 deal and another 2 month rental, I guess Mason Miller is out. The Mets should’ve got Arenado too
jvent: Arenado is all age and no upside now. No better than Baty or Vientos at this point.
Mets spend lots of games not hitting. Arenado is a big fat freaking zero for the Mets.
He’ll invoke his no-trade to block any move to Queens.
Cards fan wondering….how did they give up more for Tyler Rogers than for Ryan Helsley
Giants GM > Cards GM
They didn’t I don’t think. Can’t remember but I graded both. Both teams got good prospect returns. Both good relievers. Both did well.
Baez is the best prospect in the group.
Rogers is having an absurdly good year; it could’ve just been Stearns had his sights set.
Rogers is also making less money than helsley, I’m sure not a huge factor since its the mets but still. Plus rogers is about as durable and consistent as it gets
I’m not. Rogers is having a better year. That’s all that matters with rentals. Past years are irrelevant. I’m actually pretty happy with the return.
Rogers has three more years of control and Helsley is a rental…that’s pretty easy to figure out
Rogers is also gonna be a free agent
Tyler Rogers is a rental, same as Helsley.
My bad I thought he was entering arbitration but it’s his last year of it…sorry
cards81: Rogers is a rental as well.
Cumulatively, the Mets might have given up more for Rogers but Baez is the best of the group and has the highest ceiling.
dirtbag: Not sure they did. Baez is no. 8 and Doam is no. 14 among Mets prospects according to mlb.com.
Because Bozo is literally trying to screw the Cardinals fans & the franchise in the most dirtiest type of way. By giving away our best trade chips for a bunch of nobody’s that even he knows won’t amount to squat!he is setting the team & bloom up for failure before he turns it all over at the end of this season!
Maybe I’m wrong again but if you think Bloom has no say in these negotiations you might be crazy…imho Bloom has a lot of influence in this
Its obviously Blooms trade. But down at the gas station things look different.
Stove is on fire!
I’m totally fine with this from a Mets standpoint. They’ve added three solid relievers to the bullpen. All free agents at the end of the year. However, they haven’t touched any of their top seven prospects. Now let’s go get a starting pitcher and a bat and away we go.
Black hole at Third Base
Surprised they didn’t get arenado or gorman
vientos just isn’t progressing like he was last year. The defense is bad and now the bat is bad
I just think it’s the sophmore jinx
It’s bizarre how he swings at the lowest speed in the league but hits the ball as hard as anyone
Earth to higgy: Arenado has a full no-trade clause.
I guess you haven’t been paying any attention. Mauricio has taken over third base (with Baty at 2B or 3B). Vientos is a DH now with occasional appearances in the field. “Black hole at third base” is a bad assessment.
Ronny is even worse, .240 hitter that can’t get on base. Black hole is sugar coating it so ur right it’s not a good assessment.
Lowkey steal by NYM
Honestly happy with the deal. With the way Helsley was pitching this year, Dohm is a nice add as a starter project with upside.
All 3 players the cards got are a ways away, and have intriguing numbers. Mets now have a stacked pen. I think its a good trade for both. Cards really blew it by waiting to trade helsley and fedde. Also why must the cards stock pile middle infielders lol
Ya especially Fedde. Went from nice prospect to PTBNL
Mets & Phils FOs trading blows like a heavyweight fighr
First thought: GAH! Another infielder?! But this Dominican IF prospect has a 700+ OPS in the MiL and he’s really young. Also two decent pitching prospects. This was a decent haul for a Helsley rental. I do love Helsley, but it was time to let him go and get something.
I only hope this is the first of a few trades for the Cardinals.
Next up: Maton, Matz, Romero, Arenado??? Let’s rebuild that farm, Chaim!
Depending on return, id trade gorman, nootbar, Donovan and Burleson too. Herrera, and winn may be my only untouchables. Cards need a complete overhaul
Donovan especially, that value will never be higher.
If it were me, I’d shop around Nootbaar and Donovan, but I’d expect a haul for Donovan. I’d hang on to Burleson (he’s grown on me this year) to develop, and hope for the best with Gorman. Gorman smacks of someone we’d trade low on now and he’d develop into a star on another team. With Wetherholt knocking, Winn wouldn’t be untouchable. Herrera and Liberatore are the only untouchables IMO, but Scott, Donovan, and Burleson would require a huge return. Otherwise, trade ’em all! HAHA
700+ OPS is not good. Kids already 20. .718 is league AVERAGE. 750+ is the kind of return they needed.
He has a .733 OPS in the South Atlantic League, where the league average OPS is .672. He’s got pop and could develop into a decent hitting SS or 3B.
We also got a 2nd round 2024 draft pick Starter and a throw-in reliever.
That’s a good return.
3rd round, my bad.
@ ih8te… Not sure where you get your info or perceptions: 1st, his OPS in his current level is .740, not .718.
“Kid is already 20”. And that makes him more than 2 years younger than league average for that level. So I’m not sure what your point is.
Players this young are not taken for what they are doing now, but for their tools and potential. But here, he is, much younger than league average, and hitting well above it.
The MLB leave average is .718. Your age number are skewed by the college players getting drafted and being assigned to A or high AA for the last couple of months. He’s already been in the minors for 2.5+ seasons. Should have made it to AA by now.
Absolutely ridiculous analysis. There is no set formula for hjow long he should reach. As a younger player, he came in at a lower level than the college players. So younger players don’t move as quickly as older ones. Because the college players are physically more developed, more experienced in advanced competition, and more mentally advanced. And the fact that he is holding his own – and then some – against those older players is a credit, not a point of detraction point.
Some players go to college for 3 years. Some sign into the minors at 18 and play for 3 years. It’s the same amount of time albeit different paths. He’s just another league average on base over power guy like they already have a stock Pyle of.
Honestly I never looked at his OPS when I was reading all about him. I was focused on his lack of slug. I was simply ststong .700 is not good as the post suggested. It’s well below leave averages
Thanks for taking this bozo to school. I am running out of replies.
Arenado ain’t leaving STL unless he waives his no-trade clause.
Mets are getting the deadline.
There goes my cousin Bae 😭
Good trade for both teams. Elite relief help for the Mets. Three prospects for the Cardinals, two of them in the Mets Top 30, and all with upside. Interesting they’re a couple/few years away. Maybe they are trying to stock the system from the bottom up and truly have a reset that lasts a couple of years.
It appears Mozeliak/Bloom wanted 3 young players who do not need to be added to the 40 man roster right away. This upcoming off-season, the Cardinals have 7 players to either add to the 40 man roster, trade, or expose to the Rule 5 draft.
Agreed! Excited to see the move and hope for more to come, shedding some expiring contract talent, and hopefully thinning some positional logjams.
Good point. And the dead weight of Roby, Hjerpe and Robberse taking up 40-man spots while injured.
That’s a mess! And, unfortunate.
Think they will take a R5 chance on Robberse this year. But not Roby and Hjerpe, for sure.
Prospects are prospects. Return is return. Younger further more unoroven usually gives you the most upside.
King of cards any minute now…
Lol
Cards are still contending. Just because they traded their closer doesn’t mean anything!
Helsley has been sharp last 5 games. Wonder what dfa fodder the birds got.
DFAing A ball players?
Great job by Stearns. We added a lot to the bullpen and we kept vientos, baty, mauricio, and acuna. Also, we still have Sproat, Mclean and Tong. I get we traded some high upside talent but the mets are trying to win a world series. Not have the best farm system. Some teams are too scared to pull the trigger. No risk, no reward.
I guess the Mets don’t need more than 5 innings from their starters after all!
Soto Rogers helsley Diaz for the backend of the game.
I thought they’d put Holmes back in the pen. Maybe they still will come playoffs, but senga manaea Peterson as the front 3 isn’t bad. Montas is junk and Holmes is gassed right now
Montas is a ? I think I like him. He needs a lil cleaning up. Maybe that pitching guru or pitching lab can help him.
That pitching lab had three months to work with him while he was injured and rehabbing. Whatever they were going to do is done. Its up to him now to execute whatever they taught him.
Yup, Mets definitely need to shorten games. SP acquisition is fraught with risk and the cost must be outrageous so shorten every game instead. Go Stearns.
Thank you Helsley, good luck in NY.
Yankees are running out options!! There in trouble!
Mets fans should be pleased with what Stearns has done. Now get a CF upgrade for one of the spare infielders.
I don’t think any of the guys out there are much of an upgrade.
The Mets and Phillies appear to be the main players for Luis Robert Jr. He has the talent to be an upgrade. Tyrone Taylor in a 7-for-73 stretch. Robert would undoubtedly be an upgrade on that.
He’s hitting right now.
He always hits LHPs.
I am hoping for this acquisition.
I fear the cost.
What’s the poker term: all in.
Mets are going all in.
Gotta admire their sand.
The thing is, they’re not all in. They’ve held onto all of their highest ranked and most advanced prospects. They made significant upgrades without getting themselves pot-committed.
Mets are all in on trading mediocre prospects for a dominant bullpen.
The loss of Jose Butto…
I kid. He had to go.
My guess now it’s they’ll trading from the old bullpen team to get some the other pieces they need
Relievers are going like hotcakes!!
Does he hit or just pitch? 🍇
Surprised they paid more for Rogers than Helsley.
As a Nats fan, after seeing the Rogers trade I was licking my chops as to what Finnegan would get, now I’m not to sure I want to know, LOL
All 3 going to SF must be protected on the 40 man roster.
All 3 going to STL do not have to be protected on the 40 man roster for the December rule 5 draft.
I believe.
Fasten your seat belts Helsley will make you chew tums full time.
In the 7th inning?
Bringing back memories of Armando Benitez, I see.
Had to do it, not crazy about it. But have to keep chasing the Phillies
Mets bullpen will be no fun to face.
Can we have Detmers? Pretty please!
Yes, for the right price.
It’ll be fun to face when they LOL the division to the Phillies and then get smoked in the wild card round.
Per Baseball Trade Values
Helsley $4.7
Baez $8.2
Dohm $1.8
You actually use that?
Great. So the twins get Mick Abel and after that Mo thinks this is a good deal? Another no slug infielder that the already have 5 of. And already has had torn minescus repair surgery. Dohm had a high K/9 but also had a high whip and has control problem. And then another eventual bullpens/AAA arm. I got excited when I saw the tease and just read about the Duran trade and then I was reminded of who is in charge of making the deals.
Bc the Phillies are known for developing high quality pitchers??? You need to be more worried about Bloom at the controls than anything.
“Bc the Phillies are known for developing high quality pitchers???”
Like Aaron Nola and Ranger Surez? Christopher Perez was a trade but as a prospect and mostly developed by the Phillies.
I’ve been worried for 2 years about Bloom. Trust, I don’t want him here either. It’s going to get brutal and this return doesn’t move that needle to get them better anytime soon. Just more of the same, but it’s all about shedding payrol for as long as it takes.
You do realize that the Mets have the 12th best farm system in the big leagues and that we got their 8th and 14th best prospects for 2+ months of Ryan Helsley, right?
The Phillies gave up more for Duran because Duran has three more years of club control He won’t be a FA until 2028. Helsley on the other hand is a two-month rental. You can complain about Mo all you want, but Duran’s value is much higher than Helsley’s. Plain and simple.
Not only that, Duran is more dominant.
That’s two years, not three. 2026 and 2027.
Really comparing the corpse of Helsley to a 27 year old Duran that’s under team control for two more years? Delusional lmao
Mets-Phillies gonna be fire to the end. Both teams pulling out all the stops.
Great pick up….I liked Dohm but there are a few pitchers ahead of him in the prospect ranks. Baez has some nice upside but again too many guys ahead on the depth chart.
Have to give something to get something.
Not only that, but Dohm is reaching an innings limit and only getting 3 to 4 IP per start. He’ll presumably still be on a limit (albeit longer one) by the time he reaches AA next year.
Looking at the needs of the 2 clubs its a good trade, win-win
Hope Hels is lights out for you guys, will miss his fire
Every other team besides Phi and Nym needing late innings help is like Charlie Brown in the Great Pumpkin…. “I got a rock”.
Two East rivals Mets and Phillies not only do their teams play to win against each other, but so does their front offices and GM’s really great to see how these two teams are saying and telling their fans bases that they are going for the ring. This is great to see, shame other teams are so stuck on their prospects that they will by-pass what their team is doing now, an say hey in 5 years will have top players. I did not know there were teams and fans that can tell the future instead of living in the now. Proud of you Mets and Phillies this is the cream of the baseball.
It’s a good old fashion arms race! Relievers are flying off the shelves like groceries in a communist country.
Well, helps set the market a bit. Legitimate closer but a rental gets the #8, #14 prospects from the Mets plus one outside of the top 30 from the 12th rated farm system by MLB. Personally think it is a bit of an overpay but the Mets probably don’t care given how they spend money.
Unlike Al Avila, Scott Harris doesn’t say boo at the trade deadline. No one knows what he’s doing. Maybe he’ll pull one off. Maybe not. I’m betting he surprises us. Heck, this Paddock deal came out of nowhere and cheaply. The 1st impression was excellent.
When did anything leak from the Tigers front office since Dombrowski was here? There’s never any rumors. Harris is helped by the breakup of the newspapers’ agreement, which was helping keep both the News and the Free Press relevant. Hard to have rumors when there are no journalists to report them. Hopefully the lack of rumors is not because Harris is sitting on his hands.
Dombrowski was also very coy. Everyone knew what Avila was willing to trade. He got peanuts for Verlander and JD Martinez. Avila was an open book…trade-wise.
Mets are also developing prospects like never before. Way more prospect capital now.
Remember that time the Mets went all in to get Javier Baez and “ONLY” gave up their 4th best prospect much to their fan’s delight?
Pete Crow-Armstrong does.
Jarred Kelenic, is that you on mlbtr. So sad.
Swing and miss says that to me.
Solid pick up, but expensive. Better than doing nothing…..
Disagree
The Mets need to trade for a capable hitting coach not waste their minor leagues on bullpen.
Time for the Mets to trade for Luis Robert and another starter, or 2, then they are set for a good run.
What fixes Pete Alonso’s 4 for 45 skid???
They’re dropping like flies. Who do the Tigers go get?
He’s a rental how is this not a good return?! So we give me QO and he says no and we get a draft pick? How’s that worked out for us the past couple years?
Congrats to Helsley getting out of cesspool east missouri!!
Nah it’s just the ghetto..
Congrats to the Mets, really addressed their bullpen. Waiting for Hoyer to make a move…
Mets and Phillies loading up!
Doesn’t seem like a bad return for the Cardinals. Dohm probably cracks top 10 in our system. People will complain about the plethora of infielders, but strengthening the system helps in many ways.
Dohm is at number 15 this morning
Agree re stacking the system mostly regardless of position
Its weird how people are happy you draft best player available, but unhappy when you trade for best player available. Position is mostly irrelevant when you are acquiring players several years away from the majors – and guess what, you are allowed to trade is you end up with 3 surplus MLB level IF
So who closes? Helsley or Diaz?
Diaz, Helsley set up.
Mets got swept in San Diego because of their relief staff and went out and upgraded their pen with Soto, Rogers, and now Helsley at the deadline. They should be tough down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Your bullpen is the model.
More and more in postseason games teams are turning to their pen in the 4th and 5th innings. Might be a smart move by Stearns to get to get 4-5 scary guys instead of 1-2. It used to be if you had 2-3 guys in your pen that’s all you needed for October. Thats definitely changed
Its the Bitter Butter Battle only with relievers.
Good move by the Cards. Solid pickups on another lost season
Based on what the Phillies gave up to the Twins for Duran, the Cardinals got fleeced.
Duran has 2 more years of control while Helsley is a rental.
How do you figure? Duran is locked in for 2 more season beyond this one. Helsley is a FA at years end and has even expressed a desire to sign back with the cards in free agency. Please explain your take in this?
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Nah Duran is an elite closer. Helsley is a very good one. Duran also not a rental. Cards did well
Should have dealt him last offseason, the Cardinals didn’t do themselves any favours with their competition facade.
I like the trade for both teams
I guess Friedman is just going to rely on random journeymen to fix our bullpen.
October should be fun.
B for Cards. Could see A. They did better than fair. Baez is probably a 3b or 2b but has the hit and power to be a everyday player. Dohm good starter ceiling good reliever floor. Nice return for a rental and got another reliever prospect that I’m not familiar with but data looks good.
C for Mets. C is good passing grade just they paid the market price about what I expected. Their pen is now filthy. World series contender pen. The ticket sales, tv packages and playoff $ will make up for these prospects. Expensive though for rental. Reliever market this year is good for sellers.
From #9 and #14 in the Mets organization to #2 and #3 or 3 and #4 in the cardinals organization. What a day to be Jesus Baez and Nate Dohm.
Just goes to show u how st louis is stacking up around the league lately
Def won’t hit #2 or # 3 or even #5 based on this year’s draft along with what they already have…. and they aren’t done selling off pieces i dont think. I believe they could for real move Donovan.
They don’t have anything. 3 of their to 5 prospects are catchers. Thats means they don’t have shlt. Prospect Catchers have the second to least amount trade value to only long relievers. Overall, the success rate of top catching prospects is very low. Nobody wants to risk trading anything for a catching because of the low success rates. They’d rather just role the dice with what they had.
So what are they going to do with their 3rd, 4th and 5th top ranked prospects in the long run.? You won’t get anything for them, so I guess it’ll just be more mid season new position training for them.
Diego Cartaya, Luis Campusano, Fransisco Mejia, Fanscisco Alvarez, Adley Rutschman, Joey Bart, Henry Davis. Those are just some of the previously considered untouchable phenom catchers by their organization. Consensus to 50 guys in all of baseball. Most are DFA’d by 27. The list goes on and on and on of those guys who were ranked much higher than any of the Cardinals top player and have been pretty much busts. no better, if not much worse, than any other catcher in the league you have never heard of.
6 and 15 in the Cards system, genius.
I’d call you a troll if I didn’t think you actually believe all the rubbish you write.
Blocked and goodbye.
Well, if there’s one thing the Cardinals need, it’s more infield prospects.
I agree to a degree…. they habe too many for sure. But, if the prospects hot, you can flip them easily for high end talent imo
And with this trade Dohm’s and Elissalt’s development as pitchers comes to a screeching halt.
Seems like a very light return for Cards. They must be really high on Baez. Dohm and Elissalt sure seem to have low ceilings; if they ever see the Show it will be in middle/long relief.
blogs.fangraphs.com/new-york-mets-top-45-prospects…
Agreed. Especially after seeing Tidwell and Gilbert for Rogers.
Mets are making the rite moves
Solid trade for both sides here. Like the earlier move, I wouldn’t mind seeing an extension before the season ends. Solidfy next year’s pen and soften the prospect blow.
Like this a lot. The Mets are building a great pen if everyone stays healthy. I wouldn’t mind if the Mets finished off the deadline with one more starter, as Clay Holmes looks to be out of gas and I saw him nosediving down the stretch even before today’s start vs. SD. But otherwise, I’m fine if the Mets stand pat from here. I’d far rather they stay with what they have in center field than give up anything to get Luis Robert Jr.
And this is why Mozalak should have traded Helsley last year when he was in the middle of a career best year.
Fair move both ways. I think StL got two guys that will be regulars.
Yup. More of the same style regulars that haven’t worked for the last decade. Dohm lacks control so if they make him a starter they’ll make him throw softer for contact. So most likely another bullpen flame thrower.
Who’s going to be the new closer for the Cardinals?
Depends who’ll is still here after tomorrow. Id throw money on it end up being O’Riley when it’s all said and done.
Keith Law:
“Infielder Jesus Baez is the most talented of the three prospects the Cardinals received, easily top five in the Mets’ system just on raw tools, but he’s not a very good baseball player. His approach at the plate is just bad, he doesn’t play hard on either side of the ball, and he showed up out of shape this season.”