St. Louis Cardinals Designate Veteran Pitcher For Assignment in Shocking Move

A month of bad outings ultimately spoiled Erick Fedde's tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, who bumped the starting pitcher from their 40-man roster Wednesday.

Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have designated starting pitcher Erick Fedde for assignment, the club announced Wednesday.

Fedde was 3-10 with a 5.33 ERA, 1.505 WHIP, 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.2 WAR through 20 starts in 2025. Most of that damage came over the past month, though, with the 32-year-old right-hander going 0-4 with a 13.25 ERA and 2.491 WHIP across his last five outings.

That slump reached a new low Tuesday, when Fedde gave up six earned runs, seven hits, one walk and two homers in a loss to the lowly Colorado Rockies. As a result, the Cardinals booted him from the 40-man roster so they could call up right-hander Andre Granillo from Triple-A Memphis.

RHP Andre Granillo has been recalled from Memphis (AAA).

RHP Erick Fedde has been designated for assignment. pic.twitter.com/t6nwLY6aiG

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 23, 2025

Prior to June 25, however, Fedde was 3-6 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.298 WHIP.

Between 2017 and 2022, Fedde went 21-33 with a 5.41 ERA, 1.523 WHIP, 7.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.4 WAR as a member of the Washington Nationals. He then spent 2023 overseas, getting his career back on track by going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA, 0.954 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.

The Chicago White Sox lured Fedde back to the United States on a two-year, $15 million deal the following winter. In the midst of their historically poor 2024 campaign, though, the White Sox dealt the veteran righty to the Cardinals ahead of last summer's trade deadline.

Across 31 total starts in 2024, Fedde went 9-9 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.162 WHIP, 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 5.6 WAR.

Fedde could either get claimed off waivers or traded over the next week, although whoever takes a flier on him would be on the hook for the remainder of his $7.5 million salary. Alternatively, Fedde could hit free agency and sign with a new team, all while collecting his full paycheck from St. Louis.

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