Report: Mets Interested In Reliever Helsley, White Sox Covet Vientos For Robert
With just four more days until the 2025 MLB trading deadline, the New York Mets are one of the busier teams in baseball, and don’t seem to be close to done after they acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets remain in the market for significant relief help, and the idea of adding a legitimate setup man is one that the team could be considering. Sammon states that, “for instance, Ryan Helsley is a reliever the Mets have expressed some interest in, but they’ve yet to have any discussions about him with the St. Louis Cardinals (54-52), league sources said.” He continued to assert that, “the Mets are interested in a number of relievers,” as the deadline nears.
Helsley has been a shutdown closer for the St. Louis Cardinals for some years now and is in the final year of his contract; he would be a rental for the Mets. On the season, Helsley owns an ERA of exactly 3.00 with a 1.39 WHIP and a K/9 of 10.3 over 36 innings pitched. The month of July has been rough for the Cardinals, and they are now flirting with falling under .500 after dropping to fourth place in the division behind the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds.
Sammon also mentioned closers Pete Fairbanks of the Rays and Kenley Jansen of the Angels as other arms that the, “industry is monitoring.” Sammon has previously reported for The Athletic that even after adding Gregory Soto, the Mets are eyeing multiple more relief additions.
Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Offensively, the Mets have been heavily connected to Luis Robert Jr. as a potential addition in center field. Robert Jr is still only 27, and has begun to hit the ball much better of late. Over his last 13 games, Robert Jr. owns a 1.011 OPS with three homers and four stolen bases. Despite this, his season numbers still sit at an unimpressive .636 OPS and 10 homers. Robert has two club options remaining on his contract after 2025, giving him a few more years of team control as a boost to his value on the trade market.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that in any deal for Luis Robert Jr., the Chicago White Sox would want infielder Mark Vientos from the Mets. Vientos has been heating up for the Mets, but like Robert Jr., his overall offensive numbers are still unimpressive. Vientos has just six homers on the year with a .638 OPS, and has been in-and-out of the Mets’ lineup for most of the summer since his return from the injured list.
Vientos has been swinging a better bat of late, but has still been held to a .760 OPS over his last 12 games, and is in a 23-game home run drought. Defensively, Vientos has been something close to a disaster at third base with a negative-eight defensive runs saved and a negative-seven outs above average on the season. His role as the starting third baseman has seemingly been lost to a platoon that mostly sees Brett Baty starting at third base, with Vientos or Ronny Mauricio getting the occasional go at the hot corner.
The idea of trading Vientos falls in line with reporting from Sammon back on Monday, the 21, that the team is open to trading one of their four young infielders at this deadline: Vientos, Baty, Mauricio, and/or Luisangel Acuña, all of whom are currently on the active roster. Brett Baty appears to be a key piece to this Mets team, making it hard to see him being moved. Of note, Vientos is the only of the four without minor-league options and has the most major-league success of any of them.
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