St. Louis Cardinals beat trade deadline to upgrade starting pitcher rotation to foster…

The St. Louis Cardinals made a major move to reshape their starting rotation for this and next season as well as shore up their right-handed outfield depth on Monday, acquiring right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder and returning Cardinal Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox in a three-team trade which saw injured utility ace and former Gold Glove winner Tommy Edman sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to multiple media outlets.

Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic were the first to report on the deal, which is pending confirmation by all three teams. Fedde, 31, was a middling starter for several seasons with the Washington Nationals before playing last season in Korea and revitalizing his career.

This year, for the moribund White Sox, he’s recorded a 3.11 ERA and averaged a mere 2.5 walks per nine innings. He is under contract for next season at a reasonable $7.5 million salary, providing important cost certainty to a rotation which was yet again likely in need of shoring up from outside sources.

Pham, 36, has five home runs and a .266 batting average for the White Sox this season, playing primarily in the corner outfield spots. Crucially, he has recorded an .848 OPS against lefties, an area in which the Cardinals have struggled badly. Pham played part of five big league seasons for St. Louis and finished 11th in most valuable player voting in 2017.

Since leaving the Cardinals, he has played for seven additional clubs, and during many of those stints, he has praised the strengths of the system that produced him. Following a difficult recovery from off-season wrist surgery, 29-year-old Edman has not participated in major league baseball this season.

A sprained ankle he sustained earlier this month while fielding ground balls at Busch Stadium has also hampered his recovery, even though he has been working out at Double-A Springfield. Edman, a solid defender at all three outfield positions as well as second, third, and shortstop, is still under team control for one more season before becoming a free agent.