White Sox right Erick Fedde has been linked to multiple teams before this summer's trade deadline, including the Brewers and Astros, but no team has been linked more often to the right-hander than the Cardinals. The team's “strong interest” in the services of the 2023 KBO MVP was reported last week, and since then numerous reports have linked Fedde to St. Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolasagain Andre Pallante.
The match between St. Louis and Fedde are quite obvious given the uncertain nature of the club's rotation heading into 2025 and Fedde's extra year in control of the club after 2024. Even putting aside contract compromises, the righty sports a solid 3.11 ERA and 3.76 FIP in 21 starts with Chicago this year. If Fedde was in the cycle of St. Louis with those numbers, he would have a lower ERA by more than half a run and the second-lowest FIP behind Sonny Gray's excellent 2.85. With the Cardinals just one game away from the Wild Card and six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, the addition of Fedde will not only help them as they look to return to the postseason after finishing last in their division last year. but it would also give the club a strong front-of-the-rotation arm to start alongside Gray in the Wild Card series.
As clear as an agreement may be between the Cardinals and Fedde, there appear to be some obstacles preventing a deal from coming together just yet. With so many potential suitors for his services, the White Sox appear to have placed a high asking price on a trade for the 31-year-old. According to James Fegan of SoxMachine, the South Siders have “at least tried” to include a young player. Jordan Walker in trade talks with the Cardinals about Fedde. The first round pick of the St. Louis in the 2020 draft, Walker was a consensus top-five prospect before the 2023 campaign but has struggled somewhat at the big league level thus far.
The youngster hit a solid but unimpressive .276/.342/.445 in his first season last year and was optioned back to the minor leagues in April after a .155/.239/.259 showing in his first 20 games this season. Since returning to Triple-A, Walker has continued to struggle as he has hit just .237/.305/.372 in 295 trips to the plate at the level this year. Despite those deep struggles, however, Walker is just one season removed from being an above-average hitter in the major leagues, won't be a free agent until after the 2029 season, and is still very young at just 22 years old. That's an incredibly steep price to pay for one year and another for a first-rounder, even for someone as talented as Fedde.
Since there is no indication that the Cardinals have even agreed to include Walker in the Fedde deal, it appears that the sides may face a gap in trade negotiations. However, that does not mean that the agreement to send Fedde to St. Louis we could not meet in the end. As noted by KPRC-2's Ari Alexander, the White Sox and Cardinals have “discussed” a potential three-team trade that would include the Dodgers. Los Angeles is known to be interested in the Cardinals switch-hitting utilityman Tommy Edmanand Katie Woo of The Athletic reported earlier today that the St.
That would make a hypothetical three-team trade in which the Cardinals get Fedde from the White Sox while dealing Edman to the Dodgers a seemingly reasonable draft, though it's unclear if the Cardinals would have to part with more pieces than just Edman to make the deal. job, and it's unclear what pieces the Dodgers will send to Chicago to complete the transaction. Speaking of speculation, if the White Sox were interested in acquiring Walker as the centerpiece of the Fedde deal, the Dodgers could dangle their young hitter as James Outman or Miguel Vargas as the basis of their trading section.
Alexander reports that there is no agreement between the parties as things stand, but the talks seem to confirm the determination of all parties as the Cardinals continue to pursue promotion while the Dodgers look to extend the roster. lost the main pieces like Mookie Betts, Max Muncyagain Miguel Rojas to injuries, leaving them with below-average production in the back half of their lineup.
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