Detroit Tigers Reportedly Have Trade Interest in Two Cardinals Veteran Pitchers
The Detroit Tigers have made inquiries into at least two pitchers from the St. Louis Cardinals, according to a recent article from MLB.com.
After making a big addition to the starting rotation in free agency by giving Alex Cobb a one-year deal worth up to $17 million, Tigers management essentially said they were happy with what they had in the rotation and likely would be done making moves in free agency.
That doesn't exclude the trade market, however, and by the sounds of it, Detroit is at least poking around.
"The Cardinals are planning a 'reset' for 2025 in hopes of clearing payroll and providing more playing time to their young core of players," the article stated. "... veteran starting pitchers Erick Fedde and Steven Matz have drawn trade interest from the Tigers and Guardians, the source added."
Erick Fedde is coming off the best season of his career at the age of 31 and will be 32 years old before the winter ends.
In 31 starts in 2024 with both the Chicago White Sox and the Cardinals, Fedde posted an ERA of 3.30 with 154 strikeouts in 177.1 innings thrown.
Impressively, despite being on one of the worst teams in the history of baseball, he went 7-4 with the White Sox, finishing the season with a record of 9-9.
Steven Matz, on the other hand, made just 12 appearances and seven starts with a pedestrian 5.08 ERA, missing four months during the year with various back issues.
The prior season in 2023, he made 17 starts and 25 overall appearances, posting a 3.86 ERA over 105 innings pitched with 98 strikeouts.
He has not really handled a full workload as a starter since 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays when he made 29 starts and actually had what was probably the best and most complete year of his career with a 3.82 ERA and a similar strikeout rate.
Turning 34 in May, Matz would likely cost less than Fedde would in a trade, but he is also probably the less preferable option between the two.
With virtually all options in the Tigers rotation being right-handed outside of Tarik Skubal, Matz could be more intriguing to Detroit due to the fact that he is a lefty rather than adding another righty in Fedde.
Either of the two veterans would push for a spot in their starting rotation, however, and would give them increased depth in what is a very top-heavy staff, especially if Cobb gets hurt like he has most every other season in his career.
Keep an eye on the trade market for both arms as St. Louis looks poised to start selling off assets.
