The Chicago Cubs should look to Trade With this Division Rival

The Chicago Cubs are in need of a backend of the bullpen arm, in particular a Closer and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals makes sense for them to trade for.

The Chicago Cubs were quietly making moves here and there so far this off season until they made headlines everywhere with their acquisition of outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Tucker will provide valuable power to the Chicago Cubs lineup which has been lacking for sometime now, however some other moves still need to be made in order to fully better this roster for next season.

The Chicago Cubs just became a force in the NL Central now that Kyle Tucker will provide some much needed thump and star power to a Chicago Cubs lineup which lacked both. However, GM Jed Hoyer’s work to better this roster is still not done. There are still two areas in which the Cubs need to improve in and that’s adding a top of the rotation type arm and adding either 1-2 more arms for the bullpen, in particular a backend piece or a closer.

When evaluating the options the Chicago Cubs have for high quality backend of the bullpen arms there are not that many to choose from. Former Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams was the top option for teams to fill their closer needs, but now he is over with the New York Yankees to be their closer for this season.

Now that Williams is off the board I believe the Chicago Cubs should look to one of their division rivals to fulfill their closer needs. The St. Louis Cardinals are an intriguing partner for the Cubs to look to trade with. Ryan Helsley was another closer named along with Williams who was available to be traded this winter. The Cubs who so far have waded very shallow in the free agency pool have said they will look to the trade market to fulfill their pitching needs. Not necessarily entering a full on “rebuild” but definitely taking a step back, the Cardinals have some valuable assets such as Helsley that the Cubs could use.

The Options Available

The last time the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals came together to make a trade of this significance was all the way back on June 15th, 1964. In that deal the Cardinals sent over to the Cubs a package of: RHP Ernie Broglio, OF Doug Clemens, LHP Bobby Shantz. And the Cubs gave up: OF Lou Brock, LHP Jack Spring, RHP Paul Toth. Of those players traded to the Cardinals the one name that stands out who who they received was none other than future Hall Of Famer Lou Brock.

Why Ryan Helsley?

Now that 60 years has past since that trade, I think it’s time once again for the two clubs to come together for another deal. As I said the Cardinals appear to just be taking a step back instead of entering a full on rebuild. So with that being the case, they won’t necessarily be looking for young controllable players as teams like the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins would be looking for. I believe a mix of MLB talent as well as prospects can get a deal done between the two clubs.

Helsley, who enters his age 30 season, is one of the top bullpen arms on either the trade or free agent market. A 2x All-Star with a career ERA of 2.63 Helsley would give the Cubs the lockdown closer they need. So far in his career Helsley has accumulated 84 career saves and last season Helsley lead all of the MLB in saves with 49.

When examining Helsley’s Baseball Savant page you can see it just oozes red like the elevator doors in The Shining before they burst. Ranking in the 90th percentile or above in 8 categories some notable standouts for Helsley is he ranked in the 99th percentile in all the MLB for “fastball velocity” at 99.6mph, 97th percentile for Whiff% (36.1%), and the 93rd percentile for Chase% (33.5%).

Trade Proposal

The St. Louis Cardinals receive: right-handed Javier Assad, right-hander Cade Horton (Cubs #3 prospect, MLB #42), and third/second basemen Pedro Ramirez (Cubs #10 prospect)

The Chicago Cubs receive: Closer Ryan Helsley and right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray

The Cardinals would also be getting a MLB top 100 prospect in Cade Horton who has the potential to be a top of the rotation type arm. According to MLB.com Horton’s Fastballs grades out at 60/80 and a Slider that grade out at 70/80 which is elite. As for Ramirez who could be a solid big leaguer one day.

Why adding Sonny Gray is worth it

For the Cubs they would be getting a lockdown closer in Helsley, but also the much need righty in Sonny Gray for the rotation. The Cubs currently will enter the 2025 season with a starting rotation having 3/5 left-handers. With rumors circulating that the Cubs are pursuing Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo there’s a potential for them to have four lefties in their rotation.

Gray, who just turned 35, would be a solid #2 or #3 option to put behind either Shota Imanaga or Justin Steele. Gray with his veteran presence would add a ton of value to the Cubs rotation as well as being a valuable pitcher. Gray is under control for the next two seasons with a team option for a third. According to Spotrac Gray is owed $25 million this year and $35 million in ‘26, and the option is for $30 million with a $5 million buyout. Yes, this would be considered “expensive” for the Cubs who have shown to be keeping the purse strings locked up, but is a necessary move they need to make.

Grays salary for this season ($25 million) basically matches Cody Bellinger’s contract for this season ($27.5 million) so really the Cubs would be on the hook for the $30 million he’s owed next year and if they decided to pick up his option ($30 million) which is in his age 37 season that’s $60 million total. Gray still has a lot of gas left in his tank and he showed it in 2024. Gray for the past three seasons has had an ERA under 4.00 and in 2024 it was even better.

Gray in 2024 made 28 starts accumulating a record of 13-9 with an ERA of 3.84, an impressive 11.0 strikeout/9 ratio which lead to him having 203 strikeouts in 166.1 innings pitched. To backup how great of a strikeout pitcher Gray is, according to his Baseball Savant Gray ranked in the 91st percentile for K% at 30.3%.

Already adding catching depth with Carson Kelly , making this trade happen would complete the Cubs off season minus so minor moved made on the free agent market.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE