Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Need To Make Difficult Erick Fedde Trade Decision

Will the Cardinals trade Erick Fedde this season?
Zach Pressnell|
May 9, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde (12) celebrates with Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés (43) after throwing a complete game shutout against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
May 9, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde (12) celebrates with Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés (43) after throwing a complete game shutout against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals came into the season with the expectation that they were going to be big-time sellers at the trade deadline. Players like Nolan Arenado, Erick Fedde, and Ryan Helsley were the main names being thrown around on the trade block.

But now the Cardinals are on a massive win streak, and they're one of the hottest teams in baseball. They've quickly played themselves from being sellers to potentially being buyers.

This opens up a huge question, though. Should the Cardinals trade their expiring players, namely Fedde, whether they're contending or not? The Cardinals need to make this huge decision in the coming months.

Both sides of this argument have some substance. If the Cardinals are contending, Fedde helps put the best team on the field. He's one of the better pitchers on the team, so keeping him would make sense, even if they lose him for nothing in free agency.

On the other hand, trading him makes sense. If they fall out of contention, a trade becomes the clear best option. But if they're still contending at the trade deadline, the decision gets a bit more difficult.

The Cardinals could afford to trade Fedde because they have prospects to replace him. St. Louis' Triple-A pitching staff is loaded with talent that's waiting to crack into the big leagues. Any of these guys could take Fedde's spot, while the Cardinals would also be able to land a nice prospect package in a deal for him.

It's going to be a tough decision for the front office to make, but the right answer is likely going to be trading him, whether they've contending or not.

More MLB: Cardinals' $81 Million Star Pitcher Linked To NL Contender In Trade

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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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