How the 3 players the NY Mets traded to the Cardinals for Ryan Helsley finished 2025

Good grief, that couldn’t have been more painful to live through. The Ryan Helsley excitement didn’t last long. Thought of as the best New York Mets trade of the summer, grading high anywhere you looked, it turned out to be a looming disaster. He finished with a 7.20 ERA, -0.9 WAR, 3 losses, and a few million dollars less in his pocket on his next contract.

The Mets gave up three prospects to obtain him from the St. Louis Cardinals. Already a trade they cannot win, how should the Cardinals feel about the deal right now based on the way those three players finished their 2025 seasons? Let’s check in on the numbers.

Jesus Baez - .243/.303/.378 with 4 home runs in 27 games

Easily the best prospect the Mets gave up this summer and of the David Stearns era, Jesus Baez became a trade chip for a couple of reasons. A little too far from major league ready in a prospect pool filled with plenty of infielders, it wasn’t so hard to give up on a promising prospect who had yet to truly start hitting. His time in High-A for Peoria concluded with a .243/.303/.378 slash line and 4 home runs in 27 games. The numbers weren’t far off from what he was doing in Brooklyn. It seems like the Cardinals have themselves a good prospect to work with. He doesn’t even turn 21 until February so it may take a while before we know for sure what the Mets gave up.

Nate Dohm - 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings in 5 starts

Nate Dohm kind of fell into that category of Mets pitching prospect who could easily become viewed as expendable. He wasn’t one of the top guys. However, the third round pick from 2024 was pitching well in the Mets minor leagues prior to the trade with a 2.62 ERA in Brooklyn. After the trade, Dohm struggled a bit. He made 5 starts for Peoria totalling only 12.1 innings. A 5.11 ERA wasn’t exactly what the Cardinals had intended to get from him to start his tenure with the organization. Both clubs used him as a starter while limiting his innings. Unless something changes, it feels like he’s going to quickly convert to being a reliever.

Frank Ellisalt - 5.59 ERA in 9.2 innings

A 19th round pick from the 2024 draft, Frank Ellisalt pitched his way into this trade. Unranked and really unknown by the majority of Mets fans, he split his time as a starter and reliever. He did well with ERAs in the 3.00s at both Single-A and High-A for the Mets. In High-A for the Cardinals, Ellisalt only logged 9.2 innings in 3 starts and a relief appearance. He’d end up with a 5.59 ERA and a pair of losses. Ellisalt disappointed greater by walking 8 and striking out only 6 batters.

Conclusion: We’re still on Jesus Baez watch for a few years. The two pitchers given up are probably trending toward being used exclusively in relief. Imagine how good this would have felt if Helsley performed at the level we all believed he would. This would have had potential to go down as a steal.