The New York Yankees have a bullpen problem ever since closer Clay Holmes began to collapse in early June. Luke Weaver successfully took over as the team’s closer down the stretch, but New York will be looking for additional help for the back end of games.
The Yankees will likely have all their money wrapped up in Juan Soto in free agency, so a trade might be the best avenue to acquiring an All-Star closer. They’ll need to find a selling team that has a star closer on the trade block.
Do you know which team is looking to aggressively sell with their 103 MPH closer as the top trade piece?
The St. Louis Cardinals and closer Ryan Helsley.
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Helsley is expected to be aggressively shopped and the Yankees make a lot of sense as a landing place.
But it would take a haul of prospects to acquire the 49-save closer.
Here’s the kind of trade that could make a deal happen:
- New York Yankees receive: RHP Ryan Helsley
- St. Louis Cardinals receive: RHP Will Warren (No. 5 prospect), LHP Brock Selvidge (No. 7 prospect), OF Francisco Vilorio (No. 14 prospect)
Warren, 25, was dominant in his first two years of pro ball, but he took a step back last year. He still has dominant stuff, but a change of scenery may be the best thing for the righty.
Selvidge, 22, has been consistently good through all stops of the minor leagues. The southpaw commands all of his pitches well and is a nightmare for left-handed hitters.
Vilorio, 18, has only been with the Yankees since signing in January of this year. Despite being a teenager, he’s 6-foot-4 with a lot of upside. He has multiple above-average tools with the projection to be a five-tool player if he develops well.
This trade proposal is much more likely under the idea that New York signs Soto back. If the Yankees miss on Soto, they will have more money to play with in free agency. Still, a deal for Helsley would give them the lights-out closer they’ve been missing without costing them $20 million a year in free agency like what Tanner Scott is going to get.
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