Cardinals $15 Million Man Expected To Draw Trade Deadline Buzz

What's next for the St. Louis Cardinals?

St. Louis already has had a roller coaster of a season to this point. The Cardinals entered the campaign with very little positve buzz. After avoiding big moves this past offseason, all of the talk about St. Louis entering the season was about how much they would struggle and eventually trade guys away.

Although there could be guys who leave the franchise this season, they are clearly doing everything possible on the field right now to squash this talking point. The Cardinals have won eight straight games and now have a 22-19 record, good for second place in the National League Central just one game behind the Chicago Cubs.

With that being said, the Cardinals still are two games back of the final National League Wild Card spot, although it is very early to be looking at the standings like that.

If the Cardinals keep winning, it will take care of all of the speculation. If they aren't in playoff contention this summer, obviously we'll hear about more moves. ESPN's Buster Olney specifically talked about Erick Fedde in a column on Monday and shared that he "could draw some interest."

"No. 5. Very few good starting pitchers are expected to be available," Olney said. "If the Cardinals decide to deal players, right-hander Erick Fedde, who has a 3.86 ERA this season, could draw some interest. Fellow right-handed starter Sonny Gray is a three-time All-Star, but his contract is very backloaded -- he's owed $35 million in 2026 -- and the last time he was traded to a contender midseason (from the Athletics to New York Yankees in 2017), it did not go well."

Fedde signed a two-year, $15 million deal last offseason and has outperformed the deal, clearly. Last year, he logged a 3.30 ERA in 31 starts. So far this year he has pitched to a 3.86 ERA in eight starts.