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Blue Jays hoping to land All-Star closer before division rivals swoop in

Both the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees are named as suitors for St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.
ByMatthew Sookram|
Jul 24, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrates after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 24, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrates after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The hot stove seems to be heating up just a few days away from the MLB trade deadline. Rumors are swirling that both the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, among other teams, are hoping to acquire the services of St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, Helsely is one of the most popular names on the market right now and more than half-a dozen teams are interested in the 30-year-old right hander. The Cardinals now find themselves locked in a bidding war in a sellers market as the price on relievers just went up with the news of Guardians closer Emmanual Clase placed on paid leave due to an MLB investigation into a betting scandal.

Much like everyone else, the Blue Jays are looking for pitching help and would love to bring Helsley into the fold to set up what could be a lights out back end of the bullpen. Helsely has a 3.00 ERA in 36 innings pitched. He's racked up 41 strikeouts and a 2.93 K/BB rate. His fastball velocity sits in the 99th percentile and he's making hitters chase 34.3% of his pitches outside the zone - that ranks in the 94th percentile.

The two-time All-Star is in his seventh big league season and is coming off a year in which he led the league with 49 saves and 62 games finished. He's been a member of the Cardinals since breaking into the league at 24 years-old in 2019. Since his breakout season in 2021, Helsley has accumulated a 6.5 fWAR, which is the fifth best mark among relief pitches over that time, trailing Clase, Edwin Diaz (7.4), Devin Williams (7.1), and Josh Hader (7.0).

The Blue Jays, sitting at the top of the AL East with a five-and-a-half game lead over the Yankees, would likely have to hand over some high end prospect captial to secure Helsley, but it will be worth it if it means keeping him out of New York - or any of the other AL Teams who could be matching up against the Blue Jays in the postseason. The Blue Jays and Cardinals have come together to make some moves happen in recent deadline history and there may be a good working relationship between the two GM's to get something done.