With the MLB trade deadline just over three weeks away, front offices across the league are busy evaluating their rosters to determine which players to keep and which to move. Some teams are preparing to strengthen their squads for a playoff push, while others are leaning toward rebuilding and boosting their farm systems.
The direction the St. Louis Cardinals will take remains uncertain. Signs of a potential power struggle have emerged between outgoing president John Mozeliak and incoming executive Chaim Bloom. Meanwhile, manager Oli Marmol is putting pressure on one of the team’s more obvious trade chips.
Erick Fedde has hit a rough patch recently. His latest outing was a disaster — he gave up two hits, four walks, and three earned runs in just 1.1 innings. Over his last three starts (10 innings total), he’s surrendered 17 runs. For the season, he holds a 4.29 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP across 18 starts.
Marmol has a reputation for being direct with his players, a trait that’s drawn mixed reactions. In Fedde’s case, though, the criticism seems warranted. Marmol emphasized the need to reassess Fedde’s situation and find a more effective approach.
“We’ll treat tomorrow like an off day to take a step back and evaluate what the next steps should be,” Marmol told reporters. “(Fedde) has to find an answer to what’s happening… Continuing on this path doesn’t seem productive right now.”
Oli Marmol confirms what next for struggling Pitcher
It’s uncertain what exactly the Cardinals can do to fix the situation. Erick Fedde was something of a surprise success story last season, returning from the KBO to emerge as a rare bright spot on a historically poor White Sox team. After being traded to St. Louis at the deadline, he continued to pitch well—even as the Cardinals struggled as a whole.
Now in the final year of his deal and with limited trade value, the 32-year-old right-hander needs to make some kind of adjustment. Whether that means altering his role, tweaking his mechanics, or overhauling his preparation, something has to change—his current approach simply isn’t working. A full reassessment of his routine appears to be in order.
That seems to be the tentative plan for now. But the bigger question is how much longer Fedde will remain in a Cardinals uniform. The All-Star break could offer a much-needed chance to regroup, yet St. Louis finds itself walking a fine line between playoff contention and a potential reset in a tough division. Trading Fedde for even modest returns could fit a retooling strategy, which lines up with the priorities of new executive Chaim Bloom. On the other hand, if John Mozeliak believes Fedde isn’t helping the team win, he could also move him simply for performance reasons.
Manager Oli Marmol, for all the criticism he’s faced, clearly cares about his players and wants to fix what’s going wrong both on the field and in the clubhouse. But in Fedde’s case, Marmol’s efforts might be irrelevant if the front office finds a trade partner before the July 31 deadline.
