Cardinals $15 Million Veteran Trade Candidate Should Be Royals' Next Target
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One of the key storylines to follow for the Kansas City Royals during spring training is the competition for the fifth starter role.
Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen should be the Royals' top four starters in order, which leaves one spot for Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, Kyle Wright, and perhaps a wild card or two to settle amongst themselves.
Bubic would appear to have the inside track, thanks to early injury hiccups for Marsh and Wright. But the 27-year-old left-hander was a reliever all season in 2024, and he has never been particularly solid when he's gotten the opportunity to start.
While the Royals ostensibly have enough depth to enter the season with the pitching staff as currently constructed, that doesn't mean they should pass on an excellent opportunity to improve the rotation via trade.
According to a report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold, the Cardinals appear "open" to the possibility of moving veteran starter Erick Fedde in a trade. which would help St. Louis with their short-term rebuild while creating opportunities for younger starters.
Fedde, who turns 32 on Tuesday, was fantastic for the Cardinals and Chicago White Sox last year in his return from a season in South Korea. He pitched to a 3.30 ERA/126 ERA+ in 31 starts, which totaled 177 1/3 innings.
Having signed a two-year, $15 million deal with Chicago last winter, Fedde is dirt cheap for a pitcher who finished top-10 among all starters in rWAR last season. Any team with some sort of rotation uncertainty should be all over his trade market.
This could be a perfect excuse for the Royals to eliminate competition for the last rotation spot altogether. When none of the options are ideal, why settle for any of them? Fedde is clearly superior to Bubic and Marsh, and Kansas City shouldn't have to decimate the farm system to get him.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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