Cardinals $7.5M Breakout Star's Time In St. Louis Could Be Ending

Will the Cardinals trade away the recently-acquired hurler?

Aug 7, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to make plenty of changes this winter.

St. Louis' roster likely will get a serious face-lift this winter and at this point, no one is a guarantee to return in 2025. The Cardinals have a solid mix of great veterans and up-and-coming young players. Everyone seemingly is on the table.

There likely will be multiple trades on the way for St. Louis. MLB Trade Rumors' Steve Adams put together a list of the top 35 trade candidates this winter and had plenty of Cardinals on his list. Adams had veteran starting pitcher Erick Fedde as the third-best trade candidate in baseball.

"Fedde might not be quite as much of a lock as Helsley to move, but he’s not far behind," Adams said. "The former first-round pick washed out after several injury-plagued years with the Nats but reinvented himself in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2023, taking home KBO MVP honors in a dominant showing. He returned to MLB on a two-year, $15MM deal with the White Sox that looked like a bargain almost immediately...

"The team’s priorities have changed, and they can now recoup some young talent by peddling Fedde on the heels of 177 1/3 innings of 3.30 ERA ball, during which time he punched out 21.2% of opponents against a 7.2% walk rate. Fedde isn’t an ace and might not be quite as good as that 3.30 ERA suggests, but he’s a clear No. 3 or 4 starter who’s being paid like a reclamation project. He’ll generate a lot of interest, and since he’s a free agent after 2025, there’s no reason for a retooling Cardinals club to hang onto him.

St. Louis acquired Fedde at the trade deadline, but it doesn't sound like his time with the Cardinals will last long.

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