Cardinals acquire Erick Fedde, Dodgers acquire Tommy Edman in three-team trade with White Sox

Cardinals acquire Erick Fedde, Dodgers acquire Tommy Edman in three-team trade with White Sox

In a rare three-team trade including the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, the St. Louis Cardinals have acquired starting pitcher Erick Fedde while the Dodgers nabbed injuries utilityman Tommy Edman and reliever Michael Kopech, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first to report Monday.

A three-team trade in which the Cardinals would acquire Erick Fedde, the Dodgers would acquire Tommy Edman and the White Sox would acquire prospects is close, sources tell me and @KatieWoo

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 29, 2024

Source confirms: Dodgers acquiring Michael Kopech along with Tommy Edman in three-team trade. On it: @JonHeyman, @ByRobertMurray

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 29, 2024

According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, the full deal between the three sides also includes outfielder Tommy Pham heading to St. Louis with three prospects–Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez–heading to the White Sox.

The full trade is three teams and seven players, according to sources.

Dodgers get: UT Tommy Edman, RP Michael Kopech.

Cardinals get: SP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham.

White Sox get three INF prospects from the Dodgers: Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 29, 2024

No team has been connected more to Fedde than the Cardinals. USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported last week that the Cardinals had “strong interest” in the 2023 KBO MVP, who’s having the best season of his MLB career after struggling in six seasons with the Washington Nationals from 2017-22.

Fedde, 31, has one more year of control for $7.5 million, according to Spotrac. The Cardinals have plenty of questions in their rotation beyond 2023 with Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn both having club options; Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Gibson, Lynn and Fedde will all be free agents after 2025.

Report: Athletics are ‘reluctant’ to trade Brent Rooker

The Dodgers get a super utilityman in Edman, who’s currently rehabbing from a fractured wrist injury. He has not yet played this season, but can play all around the diamond, which Los Angeles needs with Max Muncy and Mookie Betts on the injured list. They’ve also gotten below-average contributions from multiple outfielders, such as Jason Heyward, Chris Taylor, Andy Pages and James Outman, among others.

Kopech gives Los Angeles a controllable bullpen arm with plenty of upside. They need all the help they can get, which Kopech–who owns an 88 ERA+ and 30.9 strikeout rate–can provide, though he does have shaky command.

Vargas headlines the White Sox’s portion of the package, which is questionable. Perez and Albertus were ranked as the No. 17 and 23 prospects in the Dodgers’ system, respectively, per MLB Pipeline. Vargas, a former top prospect in the system, has struggled to produce at the major league level.

In 129 career games, the 24-year-old’s combined to slash .201/.294/.364 (.658 OPS; 80 OPS+) with 20 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. He’s got an above-average eye (11.1 BB%), but hasn’t consistently produced with the bat to justify his standing on their loaded roster. He’s expected to slot in as an everyday outfielder for Chicago, so perhaps a greater role is all he needs.

Nevertheless, it’s still an underwhelming return after trading three MLB-caliber players–one of whom was a former top prospect while the two others were experienced contributors, including one of the top available arms.

***

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

Click Here for more MLB Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop