RUMOR: YANKEES CHASING POPULAR ALL-STAR RELIEVER

A bidding war could be on the horizon for St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley, and the Yankees are a potential suitor. Helsley will be a nice pickup for a contending team and could make the Yankees strong bullpen even stronger. A move like this could be a game changer.

The trade deadline comes fast every year, and I am usually super focused on improving the starting pitching staff. The Yankees starters are delivering, so far Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt are all under a 3 ERA. This is an amazing stat with Gerrit Cole still out. The rotation has exceeded expectations (let's keep it that way) but that doesn't mean pitching improvements aren't needed.

I think the Yankees could become even stronger if they add to an already strong bullpen. Pitching is always in high demand but the Cardinals are five games behind in the NL Central with a 24-26 record and could choose to sell. If they do, they will have plenty of interest in Helsley and will have some strong offers to consider.

Among potential suitors will likely be the Dodgers, but even more likely would be the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are chasing the Yankees right now in the standings, but not by much. I think the Orioles have one of the best lineups in the game and their starting rotation has been very good. Their biggest weakness so far appears to be their bullpen, so adding fire power here will make them even more dangerous and could give the Yankees are run for their money down the stretch.

I think the Orioles are a dangerous team, and they will do anything they can to win back to back division titles. If the Yankees can win the bidding war they could be unstoppable. Think about it, adding Helsley to the roster could make a dynamic one two punch for the Yankees at the end of games. Clay Holmes has been the best closer so far and adding a strong arm like Helsley could shut down any offense.

It would also give the Yankees some additional options down the road. Helsley has one more year of team control, and Holmes will be a free agent at the end of the season. If the Yankees can't keep Holmes next season, or just decide to move on they would have another strong arm to build around. Helsley isn't someone I have thought about much until this season, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense and I want it to happen.

The Yankees are contenders for a World Series berth. The more I think about our starting rotation followed by Helsley as a bridge to Holmes the more excited I get. It could happen. The question is, can the Yankees execute and what would it cost?

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

WHY WOULD THE YANKEES TRADE FOR ANOTHER HURT CARDINAL?

I'm tired to hearing about guys that could help the Yankees. Look, we all loved Harrison Bader for a hot second in the Bronx.  But he's already gone and we're seeing his trade partner Jordan Montgomery shine with the Rangers! A big tree lefty that we HAD to trade away to get an injured Bader, only to replace him with big tree lefty Carlos Rodon and somehow the Yankees got ZERO from all that.  By the way, not to harp on it again, but what the F were the Yankees thinking with all that?  Horrendous.

Now comes word the Yankees may benefit in getting another gold glover from the Cardinals.  You know, a must-have that's gonna help them in 2024?  His name is Brendan Donovan.  Got it.  OK, tell me, what's so special Inside the Pinstripes?

"The Yankees simply need more good hitters heading into next season, and Donovan fills that hole...

"Because Donovan is a pre-arbitration player, it will likely take a lot for the Cards to consider moving someone like him."...

New York has been linked to Donovan in the past and a move could make sense this offseason. The Cardinals seem to have an overflow of young offensive talent and need pitching.

Donovan impressed again in 2023 with a .284/.365/.422 slash line and 11 home runs and 34 RBIs, but appeared in just 95 games due to injuries. If he's healthy, he could really help New York."

And did you notice that last sentence? If he's healthy, he could really help New York. IF HEALTHY. That's no throw away line... that's significant when you think about the Yankees track record.

Why? Why, why, why, why, why. why, why? Why would we do this to ourselves again? And does anyone really think our medical staff can handle another injury? They couldn't handle what we already had?  And if we're gonna go after a gold glover from the Cards that gets hurt a lot, just re-sign Bader. At least then we know what we're gonna get and he LOVED the Bronx. Am I right?

Donovan was shut down in September.  FOX Sports wrote: "Donovan underwent season-ending surgery in August to repair the flexor strain in his right elbow, so a move to the 60-day IL was expected. His spot on the 40-man roster will be filled by Ryan Helsley (forearm), who came off the 60-day injured list Friday."

The bottom line with all of this? The Yankees need to learn from bad mistakes... we've seen this before.  We don't need turmoil; we need sure things.  That's the bottom line.