Cardinals' Erick Fedde Trade Rumors Reach New Peak After Shutout Win

The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly looking to trade some pieces off their team this year, but that doesn't mean they need to blow the roster up. This means they could trade some expiring pieces, most notably Erick Fedde, while keeping anybody with more than a year of team control.

They're 20-19 right now, good for second in the National League Central. There's no reason they should destroy their roster like the Miami Marlins or Chicago White Sox did.

Either way, trading Fedde makes sense no matter which route the Cardinals are heading in. If they're looking to rebuild, trading an expiring pitcher makes sense. Fedde's $7.5 million contract expires at the end of the season and there's next to zero chance the Cardinals re-sign him.

To make matters better, Fedde likely boosted his trade value quite a bit with his most recent start.

On Friday night, Fedde got the ball against Mitchell Parker and the Washington Nationals. In 109 pitches, Fedde would twirl his first career complete game and first career shutout as the Cardinals beat the Nationals by a score of 10-0.

Fedde allowed six hits and no walks while striking out eight hitters over his nine innings of work. It was truly a masterful performance, likely the best of his career.

A start like this can light a fire under the trade rumors, especially when there are so many teams across the league who need pitching. While most teams typically wait until the trade deadline to move their players, Fedde could garner serious attention this month, especially with a start like that under his belt.

That start lowered his season ERA to 3.86 and season WHIP to 1.31.