Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' 2024 Trade Deadline Deal Has Aged Like Spoiled Milk

The Cardinals made a bad trade last season...
Zach Pressnell|
Jul 12, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals went into the trade deadline as buyers last season. Not many minds in the baseball world expected the Cardinals to buy, but their front office saw a glimmer of hope, so they seemingly went for it in an attempt to make the postseason.

At the trade deadline, the Cardinals were involved in a massive three-team trade that sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers and brought Erick Fedde to St. Louis.

While Fedde was productive last season, the Cardinals missed out on the postseason because they simply didn't have the talent to compete with the powerhouses atop the National League. While the Cardinals fell short, Edman returned from injury and dominated in the postseason en route to a World Series title.

A year later, Edman has signed a massive contract extension and continues to be a solid player for the Dodgers. But Fedde has struggled. His underlying numbers have always indicated he was getting quite lucky, but at this point, the righty isn't playable at the big league level if St. Louis is going to contend.

Fedde has been so bad as of late that the Cardinals likely couldn't trade him if they wanted to. They're going to be stuck with him on the roster for the rest of the year and it's hurting their chances of a postseason berth.

If the Cardinals wouldn't have panicked and tried to get aggressive last season, they would be in a much beter spot right now. Adding Edman to the lineup would make the team better. Taking Fedde off the pitching staff would allow for a pitcher like Michael McGreevy or Quinn Mathews to shine.

The trade has truly aged like spoiled milk.

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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