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Uh, is anyone buying this?
“Worthy: Why the Cardinals were not losers in the Erick Fedde trade, even in hindsight”
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/column/lynn-worthy/article_56242c07-9382-4df3-bbd4-3bb2bb137414.html
We always think our guys are worth more than they are. I’m not sure what would have been the maximum take for a 100ish OPS+ IF/OF UT just getting close to being over being hurt, with a recovery that didn’t go real smooth as I recall, with at least one setback, maybe two (don’t remember exactly) and an extended IL stint. He was damaged goods at that point though, with his future productivity and durability in question. I don’t remember how close he was getting to FA, but fairly close at least. We did need a starting pitcher, and Fedde was coming off a good run. He had question marks attached the same as Edman did at the time. But yeah, it ultimately didn’t work out.
You have to be happy for Tommy. He cashed in big for a UT and landed on a team where he can thrive being used in a way that meshes with his skill set.
Fedde turned out to be worse than we would have wanted but there is some truth to Worthy’s article.
Fedde had been good with the White Sox.
Edman had been hurt all year and really was surplus requirements with the Cardinals. They weren’t going to sign him to an extension.
The Cardinals definitely didn’t have, and still don’t have, much starting pitching depth at Memephis to rely on so a veteran stopgap was needed.
The trade did not end up working but some of the factors that led to the trade are factual.
No debate about the factors that led to the trade, but with the benefit of hindsight, which the author allowed, the Cardinals clearly acquired the wrong pitcher. I consider the deal to have failed, no matter how good the intentions were.
He was a stop gap for a team who didn’t have much minors depth behind them. Would’ve been nice if he could’ve pitched at a 4-5th starter level to get something out of him but he plummeted and now he’s gone. Oh well!!!
I get why the team made that trade. I didn’t really love it at the time and said so in those comments when it happened. And yes, I agree the trade was an overall failure. It wasn’t disastrous because we traded from an area of abundance for an area of limited supply, but still a failure because we didn’t get as much value out of the return as we needed to have gotten. Had they moved Fedde in Spring training, it might have worked out a lot better.
This the route to the welfare line.
They dumped Edmans future value for a DFA. Extension avoided, a win for the budget reset, while the roster suffers.Apparently first with the news.
So the Cards have to eat most of the salary, which they would have had to do anyway. A player to be named later or cash is supposedly the return.
The Atlanta Braves have acquired right-hander Erick Fedde and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 27, 2025
Source: As part of their deal with the Braves, the Cardinals will cover the majority of what remains of Erick Fedde's $7.5 million salary in 2025.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 27, 2025
The majority of his remaining salary is much more than the prorated league minimum so they likely settled somewhere in between. And the Cards receive a player, apparently. Better to get something at least.
And the Cards receive a player, apparently
Maybe Fedde will do OK and Mo can get some A level kid who can play a little. You know what they say, if you have a jersey you have a chance.
You raise an interesting question in my mind, at least. I wonder if the PTBNL/cash decision is dependent on how well Fedde pitches for the Braves.
Likely what we get back is dependant on how and how long Fedde goes. Guess is if he bombs we get a little more money and if he does well we get a bump in $$ and a lower end prospect.
I’m fine for ownership figuring out a way to get something out of someone who was completely worthless for us at the end. Hope he does well. No hard feelings.
In this discussion on X, part of which is shown below, the Atlanta paper’s Braves beat reporter (Goold equivalent) says there is no PTBNL and the only thing the Braves are paying is a small part of Fedde’s salary.
(As noted before, the relief has to be more than the league minimum salary remaining or the Cards would have had no motivation to trade him. They would be on the hook for league min anyway if he was released.)
It was either/or, not both. And the cash considerations was Braves agreeing to pay a small part of his salary
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 28, 2025
The way Cots has the Fedde obligations listed on the Cardinals and Braves payrolls respectively it looks like the Braves are paying $257k. Maybe that number will change as more information comes out.
According to Baseball Reference, Fedde has banked 17.5M in the last 3 years. I’m happy for the guy. And he’s still in his early 30’s, and if things don’t work out for him next year, he can go out and get a real job if he wants to.
Fedde really hasn’t been any worse than Mikolas the last 12 months but one of them makes more than double the salary than the other.
By the trade date, Cots reports there was $2,540,323 remaining of Fedde’s salary (33.87%).
Stl agrees to paying $2,282,904; leaving an atl balance of $257,419
The same 33.87% of league minimum is $257,412Fedde was in such hot demand, that atl had to kick in another $7, to jump the waiver line, and get their man. Gotta have him!
I am not sure that Cots has the scoop on the exact amount that Atlanta is paying. No one else has been specific on the dollar amount. My guess is they plugged in the MLB minimum as the floor.
The Braves are likely paying more than that or the Cards wouldn’t have bothered with the trade – unless they are getting something else back. And the ATL writer says no.
The same guy that made this disaster trade is still running the ship at the trade deadline this year.
Can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
For reference, this is the announcement made by the Cardinals yesterday.
RHP Erick Fedde has been traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 27, 2025
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