The St. Louis Cardinals have started to play a little bit better baseball in recent days. Though still 17-19, they have won three consecutive games and are still close in the standings.
The Cardinals are still predicted to be sellers at the trade deadline. One player that could be on the move before July 31 is right-hander Erick Fedde.
Fedde had a strong 2024 campaign with the Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, posting a 3.30 ERA in 31 starts and going 9-9 over 177 1/3 innings of work.
However, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Fedde’s recent struggles may be hurting his value.
“Fedde hasn’t pitched as well as teams want to see, and there’s the concern that he’ll wear down like he did last season, so teams are going to want to see evidence that’s the starter from 2024 White Sox not starter from the previous years with the Nationals,” Goold said in his weekly Cardinals chat.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Fedde has not been able to replicate his 2024 success thus far. Two bad starts have hurt his numbers.
In seven starts, the veteran right-hander is 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA.
The Cardinals could still bring back a decent haul for the right-hander, as contending teams often overpaid for rental pitching at last year’s deadline. The Houston Astros had to give up three top prospects for Yusei Kikuchi, who had a 4.75 ERA at the time of his trade.
But if Fedde continues to struggle, it could turn some teams off and lead to him having fewer suitors.
It will certainly be interesting to see where things stand at the trade deadline, but if he struggles more, St. Louis may be forced to hold onto him and deal away some other pieces.
More MLB: Cardinals’ Masyn Winn gets $100 million contract update
