The St. Louis Cardinals are in contention for the National League Wild Card. With a half-game lead over the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks, reinforcements at the MLB trade deadline will be critical down the stretch. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cardinals have expressed serious interest in White Sox starter Erick Fedde.
St. Louis has platooned the fifth spot in their rotation this season. Andre Pallante, Steven Matz, and Matthew Liberatore have all made more than five starts, and none have an ERA under four. Fedde, on the other side, returned to the main leagues following a season in Korea, where he produced a 2.99 ERA over 19 starts. The Cardinals will need pitching depth and can gain an advantage over their Wild Card opponents by acquiring one of the best arms on the market.
The White Sox will almost definitely trade Fedde by the July 30 deadline. They entered Sunday with the poorest record in the majors, and Fedde has one year of team control left at a very reasonable $7.5 million. The extra year of control will provide a solid return as the White Sox continue to expand their prospect pool.
They can add an arm to their future rotation by sending Erick Fedde to the Cardinals. Five of their top nine prospects are pitchers.
Cardinals add more at the MLB trade deadline.
Starting pitcher Erick Fedde (20) of the Chicago White Sox throws a fastball against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.
While starting pitching depth is critical for the Cardinals, Fedde is far from the only available arm. The Cardinals have also been linked to Texas Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zach Eflin, according to MLB.com. Both right-handed pitchers would play the same role as Fedde and each have one year of control remaining. The difference could be down to pricing or availability. However, if the Cardinals act swiftly, they can acquire a controlled starting at a very modest cost.
Aside from pitching, having an outfielder who can offer depth to the lineup would be extremely beneficial. With outfielders Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman recovering from injuries, outfield depth will be helpful in the meantime. The lineup requires a right-handed bat to supplement the productivity of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Former Cardinal Tommy Pham may check all of these boxes. Fedde’s current teammate in Chicago, Pham, has a career playoff hitting average of.313. He improved this by hitting over.400 in the World Series for the Diamondbacks last year.
The Cardinals’ greatest business move is to arrange a package deal with the White Sox. Acquiring both Fedde and Pham would address both of their primary needs in one stroke. The Cardinals suffered a rare October without baseball last year, and the organization should do everything possible to bring the playoffs back to St. Louis.
Given the congested NL Wild Card scenario, this deal should be completed as soon as possible. Adding Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham would transform the Cardinals into a squad to defeat in the Wild Card race and a tough out in the playoffs.
