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The Boston Red Sox are on the rise after winning nine of their last 10 games entering Friday.
While they still sit fourth in the American League, the Red Sox hold the final wild card spot if the playoffs were to start now. The team knows to keep this push going it will take some help, and MLB insider Jeff Passan believes St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley makes the most sense.

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“Red Sox relievers walk too many hitters and don’t strike out enough,” Passan wrote. “Take away Aroldis Chapman — the best reliever in the AL this season — and the Red Sox have a middle-of-the-pack bullpen. Getting Helsley from St. Louis would give Boston arguably the top setup-closer combination in baseball and go a long way toward supporting a rotation that has been among the game’s best over the past month.”
Chapman has been lights out this season, but the Red Sox bullpen hasn’t stood out aside from him. Adding a reliever like Helsley would also set up Boston to have another option to close games if Chapman wasn’t available.
So far this season, Helsley has a 3.19 ERA in 31 games with the Cardinals and 19 saves to his name. Just a year ago, he finished the year with an impressive 49 saves, which was one of many reasons he was an All-Star for St. Louis.
Helsley’s name has been thrown around significantly since opening day as many thought the Cardinals would be fighting with the Pittsburgh Pirates for last place in the National League Central. Even though St. Louis has been much better than that, Helsley is still expected to be traded as his contract expires after the season.
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