The St. Louis Cardinals made headlines on Monday with a three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. This deal brought the Cardinals a veteran starting pitcher and a familiar offensive contributor, leaving only the bullpen as their focus for the remainder of the trade season.
Achieving two-thirds of their trade deadline goals, the Cardinals avoided a potentially less favorable outcome had they accepted an offer from the New York Yankees. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Cardinals were negotiating to acquire the best starting pitcher available and discussed Nestor Cortes with the Yankees but ultimately chose Erick Fedde instead.
The Yankees were eager to acquire Tommy Edman but couldn’t offer enough to secure a deal. Cortes was their best offer for Edman, and the Cardinals appear to have made a prudent choice. Fedde outperforms Cortes in several key pitching statistics this season, including record, ERA, batting average against, and WHIP.
In addition to acquiring a superior pitcher in Fedde, St. Louis also gained a reliable right-handed bat in Tommy Pham through the trade with the Dodgers and White Sox. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has made strategic moves this trade season, and there’s hope that more beneficial deals are on the horizon.
