The Phillies’ interest in St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley hit the rumor mill earlier Tuesday, via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Later into Tuesday night, another blip appeared on the radar regarding the Phils and Helsley: They’ve been interested in the right-hander for a while, at least going back to this past offseason, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo.
Wrote the Cardinals scribe on Tuesday night:
The Cardinals hold considerable leverage when it comes to their relievers. Several teams are in the mix for Helsley, the closer. The Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers are all believed to be in on the two-time All-Star. Philadelphia’s interest in Helsley dates back to at least the offseason. [The Athletic]
Perhaps that bit of info at the end somewhat recontextualizes the Phillies’ winter, and points more to where they’re seriously looking as the July 31 trade deadline on Thursday closes in.
As a quick refresher, the Phillies let hard-throwing reliever Jeff Hoffman walk in free agency during the offseason, when he eventually signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, and opted to take a flier on Jordan Romano on the gamble that he would find his way to a career bounce-back.
They lost badly.
Romano proved a disaster as a closer, most of the bullpen has struggles elsewhere, too, and José Alvarado’s PED suspension really didn’t help.
The Phillies’ relief corps was already thin entering the year, got thinner, and now needs to find major help in just a couple of days’ time if the club intends to make a deep run into October.
Word that the Phillies were at least thinking about Helsley as a possible option as far back as the winter, though, suggests that they were fully aware of their bullpen’s shortcomings, and were monitoring for more established, dependable options to try and fill the hole that Hoffman left.
They couldn’t then, but maybe now they can.
Helsley will be a free agent after the season, so in theory, the rental tag could bring some measure of cost control.
Upping the price on the Cardinals’ end, though, is that Helsley is a two-time All-Star who led all of baseball in saves last season, and can fire away a fastball that reaches into the triple digits.
Then there are the chances of a bidding war brewing between the Phillies and other potential suitors like the Dodgers, Mets, and Blue Jays – who are each also rumored to be in the mix according to Feinsand and Woo both – plus the fact that Emmanuel Clase’s recent placement on leave in Cleveland for a gambling probe just took a big trade target off the block to narrow the field.
The clock is ticking for the Phillies to find desperately needed relief help.
Should they manage a deal for Helsley by the time Thursday at 6 p.m. ET strikes, then maybe that would’ve been one months in the making.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
