Brewers Pitcher Elects Free Agency, Shows Cardinals Made Huge Mistake

Sometimes, it's the moves you don't make that hurt more than the moves you do.

The St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to recoup real value last offseason for starting pitcher Erick Fedde with only one year remaining on his contract. But they held onto him, and instead, wound up losing him for nothing.

And given Fedde's latest career choice, it's clear just how much of a misstep the Cardinals really made.

Fedde elects free agency from Brewers

Sep 24, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Erick Fedde (59) delivers during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Fedde elected free agency on Saturday, according to the transactions log on his official roster page. He had been designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A Nashville at the end of September, enabling him to hit free agency before eligible players on their teams' 40-man rosters.

The Cardinals DFA'd Fedde in July, trading him to the Atlanta Braves four days later. It was an entirely justifiable move at the time, but before the season, it would have been hard to envision.

A year ago, Fedde was one of the surprises of the year in Major League Baseball. He pitched to a 3.30 ERA in 31 starts and racked up 5.6 bWAR, which ranked sixth among all pitchers in the big leagues.

That gave Fedde serious trade value in the offseason, but the Cardinals, who had acquired him from the Chicago White Sox just months earlier in their failed bid to make a playoff push, couldn't seem to pull the trigger.

Even though they knew in their heart of hearts that they probably weren't going to be a playoff team this year, and spent virtually no money on free agents in an attempt to make the team any better, the Cardinals held on Fedde, probably in hopes of extracting a higher price in a midseason trade.

Instead, that price tag dropped to zero, as Fedde put up a 5.22 ERA in 20 starts in a Cardinals uniform this year. He was even worse for the Braves, who released him less than a month later, and all in all, he wrapped up the season with a 5.49 ERA and negative-0.6 bWAR.

Entering his age-33 season, Fedde will be hoping to catch on with another team, probably on a minor-league deal, and prove his excellent 2024 campaign wasn't a fluke. But the only thing that matters to the Cardinals is the regret of not trading him when they had a golden opportunity.

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