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Dealing one of the most sought after relievers at the trade deadline begins a 24-hour sale on veterans in the Cardinals' bullpen.

"We knew it was coming," manager Oliver Marmol said about Helsley's departure after the team's 2-0 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday night. "Having the conversation isn't the easiest. This is a guy who has done so much for the (organization). He really has. His ability to post and pitch in meaningful spotsÌý— that's a tough role as a closer because everything falls on you. He did a really nice job of taking that role and running with it. It was good to see his growth."

In exchange for Helsley, the longest-tenured Cardinal on their roster, the Cardinals received three minor leaguers, including the Mets’ No. 6 prospect, shortstop Jesus Baez. The two other players coming from the Mets are right-handers Frank Elissalt and Nate Dohm. Baseball America ranks Dohm as the Mets’ 25th-best prospect.Ìý

A priority for the Cardinals at the deadline was acquiring players from the lower minors who would not create more traffic on the 40-player roster before new front office leadership takes over following this season.

And they are not done attempting to make trades.

Talks involving relievers Phil Maton and Steven Matz continued late into Wednesday night. As the team's charter flight left for San Diego, both Maton and Matz remained in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ because of the possibility of trades before Thursday evening's deadline.

The Boston Red Sox expressed interest in Matz, per sources, and were working to complete a deal for the lefty.

Toronto has been among the teams talking to the Cardinals about their relievers, per sources, and both Maton and Matz have drawn interest from other contending clubs because of Maton's postseason seasoning as a setup man and Matz's versatility for the stretch run.

The Cardinals announced the four-player deal with the Mets shortly before the start of their game at Busch Stadium against the Marlins.

Marmol was the only official who spoke on the trade.

"Off the field, man, (Helsley) started to do things for the community that were meaningful," Marmol said. "You hate to see those type of guys leave. But I definitely wish him well. He's earned the opportunity to go play meaningful baseball."

Helsley, 31, set the Cardinals’ club record for saves with 49 a year ago, this season he’s converted 20 saves. The right-hander will be a free agent at the end of the season, so the Mets are augmenting their Edwin Diaz-led bullpen for a postseason run.

Bringing Helsley to Queens was part of a flurry of trades for relievers Wednesday night, the eve of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline.

Earlier in the day, the Mets completed a deal for San Francisco’s submariner Tyler Rogers and sent three players likely to contribute in the majors to the Giants. Within a few hours, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets’ rival within the division, pulled off one of the biggest deals of the deadline by acquiring Minnesota Twins’ fireballer Jhoan Duran. Unlike the Mets’ rental of Helsley, Duran heads to the Phillies with two more years of control.

The Cardinals have been at the nexus of negotiations for relievers this season, fielding interest from a handful of teams on Helsley while also considering offers for lefty Matz and interest in veteran setup man Maton, per sources.

The Cardinals, who sank to 55-55 with the loss Wednesday night to the Marlins, leaned into seller mode coming out of the All-Star break. They wanted to be sure to maximize the return they could get for Helsley, one of the most-established closers available with one of the best fastballs on the market.

The Cardinals drafted Helsley in 2015 and he had been with the organization longer than any other player on the 2025 team.

Baez, 20, hit .242 this season at Class A for the Mets. He has 21 extra-base hits with 10 homers to go for a .390 slugging percentage and a .722 OPS. The right-handed batter has played both shortstop and third base throughout his minor-league career. He was standing on second base when the trade was agreed upon and had to be removed for a pinch-runner in the Cyclones' game.

Dohm, 22, woke up Wednesday morning with the Mets’ High-A affiliate. A third-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2024, Dohm has the pitcher profile that usually draws the Cardinals’ attention in the draft with the added velocity that the Cardinals chased in this month’s draft. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is 3-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) this season, and he’s struck out 77 batters in 62 2/3 innings. His fastball has top-shelf hop and has touched 99 mph, though he tends to hold it in the mid-90s mph.

Elissalt, 23, also comes to the Cardinals from the High-A Brooklyn Cylcone’s pitching staff. He had just been promoted there this month after 57 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings with the Mets’ Low-A affiliate. The right-hander has a 4-5 record with a 3.04 ERA in 20 games (seven starts). He’s struck out 65 in 56 1/3 innings total this season and paired that with a 0.99 walks-plus-hits-per-innings-pitched (WHIP).

As pace picked up on bidding for the top relievers in the market, the Cardinals’ focus was on Helsley, and with less than 24 hours to go before the deadline they could then return to conversations about other players.

The Phillies, Dodgers and Toronto were among the teams to express some level interest in Helsley. Toronto has also talked to the Cardinals about Maton, and Matz has drawn interest from a similar group of teams, some of who view him as a swingman or versatile pitcher who could be used in several roles.

A source described the Cardinals as looking for a move that would shed some remaining salary from this year’s payroll, and of the trio relievers Matz has the highest salary at $12 million for this season.

Before Wednesday’s game, Helsley and Matz played catch as part of the bullpen’s routine to test their availability for that evening’s game.

Helsley has spoken openly all week about the likelihood of being traded ahead of Thursday evening’s deadline. He told the Post-Dispatch this past Monday that he would welcome a chance to return to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ as a free agent and that he continues to have interest in being a long-term Cardinal.