Sometimes the actions you don’t make hurt more than the ones you do.
Last summer, the St. Louis Cardinals had an opportunity to recuperate significant value for starting pitcher Erick Fedde, who had only one year left on contract. However, they stuck onto him and ended up losing him for nothing.
And considering Fedde’s recent career decision, it’s evident how big of a mistake the Cardinals made.
Fedde elects free agency from Brewers
Fedde opted for free agency on Saturday, according to the transactions record on his official roster page. He was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A Nashville at the end of September, allowing him to enter free agency before any eligible players on his clubs’ 40-man rosters.
Fedde was designated for assignment by the Cardinals in July before being traded to the Atlanta Braves four days later. It was a perfectly reasonable decision at the time, but it would have been difficult to predict before the season began.
Fedde was one of Major League Baseball’s biggest shocks last year. He had a 3.30 ERA in 31 starts and 5.6 bWAR, ranking sixth among all major league pitchers.
That increased Fedde’s trade worth in the winter, but the Cardinals, who had acquired him from the Chicago White Sox just months before in their unsuccessful postseason drive, couldn’t seem to pull the trigger.
Even though they knew they definitely wouldn’t reach the playoffs this year and spent almost no money on free agents to improve the squad, the Cardinals hung on to Fedde, most likely in the hopes of getting a higher price in a midseason deal.
Fedde’s 5.22 ERA in 20 starts for the Cardinals this year has reduced that price tag to zero. He performed even worse with the Braves, who terminated him less than a month later, finishing the season with a 5.49 ERA and negative-0.6 bWAR.
Fedde, who will be 33 years old this season, will be aiming to sign with another team, most likely on a minor-league contract, and prove that his outstanding 2024 season was not a fluke. The Cardinals’ sole regret is that they did not trade him when they had a good opportunity.