The Cardinals had a reasonable plan with starting pitcher Erick Fedde.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak hoped the team would stay competitive during his farewell season. Keeping Fedde would help the team do that while also allowing the organization’s pitching prospects to develop without rushing.
For much of the season’s first half that decision looked prescient.
Fedde had a 3.54 ERA through his June 19 start. The Cardinals stayed in the playoff chase. Top pitching prospect Michael McGreevy excelled at Triple-A Memphis and during his fill-in starts in the majors while preparing for graduation.
Pitching prospect Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe and Tink Hence all suffered injuries, leaving the organization perilously short of depth. Had the Cardinals traded Fedde during the winter, those setbacks would have left the team vulnerable.
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Pitching injuries mounted across the majors, raising Fedde’s potential trade value during the summer as Mozeliak mulled over how to play the trade deadline.
The plan was unfolding nicely until it wasn’t. Fedde allowed seven runs on back-to-back starts and he never could pull himself together after that.
Instead of keeping Fedde for a final playoff push or trading him for a premium ahead of the deadline, the Cardinals had to designate him for assignment to spare him and the team further suffering.
Writing for FanGraphs, Jay Jaffe looked at what went wrong:
Last July 29, Erick Fedde was a key piece in a three-way blockbuster that ended up having a major impact on the postseason. Unfortunately, that impact wasn’t for the Cardinals, who acquired him from the White Sox; instead Tommy Edman, who was dealt from the Cardinals to the Dodgers in the same eight-player trade, won NLCS MVP honors and helped his new team to a championship. Fedde pitched reasonably well for ӣƵ — who missed the 2024 playoffs — late last season, but his performance this year suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.
On Wednesday, the day after he was roughed up by the Rockies, the struggling 32-year-old righty was designated for assignment, a likely prelude to being released.
The move isn’t exactly a shock, and it comes as the Cardinals have slipped in the standings, in all likelihood ruling out an aggressive approach as the July 31 trade deadline approaches . . .
In 20 starts totaling 101.2 innings, he’s pitched to a 5.22 ERA and a 5.09 FIP, with a 14.1% strikeout rate. The last mark is the lowest of any starter with at least 100 innings, and his drop of 7.1 percentage points from 2024 is the largest of any pitcher with at least 100 innings in both seasons. In Tuesday night’s start at Coors Field against a team that entered just 24-76, he was rocked for seven hits (including two homers) and six runs in three innings. It was the fourth time in five starts — two against the Cubs, one apiece against the Braves, Pirates, and Rockies, the last three not exactly powerhouses this year — that Fedde failed to last at least five innings. Over that span, he allowed eight homers and 26 runs in 17.2 innings, walking 11 while striking out eight, and blowing up what had been a respectable 3.54 ERA and 4.07 FIP through his first 16 starts. The Cardinals lost all five of those games and have dropped 15 of Fedde’s 20 starts overall.
So, yeah, things did not exactly work out as planned.
Here is what folks are writing about Our National Pastime:
Patrick Dubuque, Baseball Reference: “Sure, the Diamondbacks technically linger on the fringes of contention despite a rotation constructed out of plastic six-pack rings and dolphin bones. And after a sweep of the Cardinals to haul themselves to 4.5 games back of the Padres for the final Wild Card spot, they had every reason to stall for a week. (At least before they dropped a game in the standings Monday night.) But regardless of the scores this week, the Yankees should just back up the truck and make them an offer they can’t refuse. The third baseman (Eugenio Suarez) is having a career year at 33, setting new highs in EV90 (97th percentile) and pulled fly-ball rate, selling out everything for power and profiting from the trade. Sure, he’s chasing more, walking less, and treating everything like a mistake pitch whether it is or not. It’s also working, and it’ll work just as well in Yankee Stadium.”
David Schoenfield, : “So, who gets Suarez? The Tigers and Cubs are probably more focused on pitching help. The Mariners have an excellent farm system with nine top-100 prospects and know Suarez well after he played there in 2022 and '23, but their offense does lead the majors in road OPS. Given the way they operate, they might not be willing to trade one of those top prospects for a half-a-season player -- and there's a reasonable argument that the only way they're going to catch the Houston Astros is for their rotation to start pitching better. That leaves the Yankees. General manager Brian Cashman has said the Yankees are "going to go to town" at the trade deadline, suggesting they need a starting pitcher, bullpen help and an infielder. The offense has been better again in July after scuffling in June, but Aaron Judge could still use some help. There is an air of desperation as well with the Yankees, as the Toronto Blue Jays passed them in the standings, and Suarez is clearly a perfect fit for their gaping hole at third.”
Jim Bowden, The Athletic: “The Yankees will not be trading top prospects Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. I’m told both are off limits. However, they probably would be willing to part with a package highlighted by middle infielder Roderick Arias and left-handed pitcher Brock Selvidge. If the Diamondbacks wanted to expand a Suárez trade to include an impending-free-agent starter, either Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly, then perhaps the Yankees would be willing to add recently promoted right-hander Cam Schlittler or outfield power hitter Everson Pereira. There’s certainly a path to a package that could make sense for both sides.”
Jesse Yomtov, USA Today: “Following a maddeningly-inactive offseason, the Orioles' 2025 season couldn't be going much worse. But Baltimore has a slew of valuable trade chips who could yield some high-minors talent to reinforce Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday and company. Need a starting pitcher? The Orioles could trade three – Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano. Before a clunker in his last outing, the 41-year-old Morton had turned his season around with a 2.76 ERA in eight starts after returning to the rotation. Want bullpen help? Baltimore should make veteran relievers Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez available and may entertain offers for former All-Star closer Felix Bautista. Orioles outfielders Cedric Mullins (13 HR, 14 SB) and Ramon Laureano (.855 OPS in 233 AB) could also be impact additions.”
R.J. Anderson, : “The Pittsburgh Pirates are another team worth paying attention to over the next week. From this vantage point, this could be a pivotal stretch. Pittsburgh has a number of players who appeal to contenders, including (but not limited to) starter Mitch Keller, reliever David Bednar, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, and outfielder Bryan Reynolds. The Pirates also have an impressive amount of young starting pitching and an obvious need to add offense so that they can maximize their competitiveness during the remainder of ace Paul Skenes ' team control years. Just how the Pirates play out the deadline is to be seen. But there is a real opportunity here for them to improve their short- and long-term outlooks if they can make the most of this moment.”
MEGAPHONE
“It’s huge. Looking forward to welcoming Josh into a Mariner uniform. A tremendous player, a tremendous bat, and really looking forward to how he fits into this lineup. It’s going to be a tough lineup, and it makes us so much deeper.”
Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson, after his team acquired slugger Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks.
