Dodgers, Red Sox Warned Against Cardinals $15 Million Starter

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline coming up on July 31st, chatter has already started to pick up about which moves should get done -- and others that shouldn't.

The St. Louis Cardinals are no stranger to trade speculation and frankly have been the most talked about team this season when it comes to rumors and trade noise.

St. Louis has a 36-33 record so it's going to be interesting to see how it handles the deadline. The picture will get clearer over the next few weeks. But, one guy on the roster isn't getting the same trade buzz as he once was.

The Cardinals acquired Erick Fedde last year and it was a pretty solid deal. He signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Chicago White Sox and had a 3.11 ERA when the Cardinals got him. Fedde was solid down the stretch last year with the Cardinals and had a 3.72 ERA in 10 starts. So far this year, he has a 3.54 ERA in 13 starts and will become a free agent at the end of the season. Because of this, he has been mentioned as a possible trade chip.

While this is the case, FanSided's Cody Williams shared a column about players contenders should avoid at the deadline and actually had Fedde at No. 1 and specifically mentioned how the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox should steer clear.

"No. 1. SP Erick Fedde (St. Louis Cardinals)," Williams said. "After the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Erick Fedde ahead of last year's deadline, he now figures to be one of the players that the Redbirds move this summer. While the Cards aren't going to be full-blown sellers, his expiring contract could ultimately make him one of a few players who allows John Mozeliak and the St. Louis front office to play the middle ground. However, they might want to try and get Fedde off the books before the extremely obvious regression comes for him.

"Fedde has continued to be solid with his overall numbers, posting a 3.54 ERA (second best in the Cardinals rotation) with a 1.30 WHIP. What jumps off the page with Baseball Savant, however, is that he's sitting with an expected ERA at 5.28 this season, 1.74 points higher than the actual mark. With the contact he's giving up and the situations he's found himself in, he's simply not been as good as his current ERA would suggest. His stuff likely isn't going to tick up meaningfully to change that, which means any team pursuing him should expect him to not be as strongly impactful as he has been. Buyers that should beware: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers."