The St. Louis Cardinals acquired right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham on Monday as part of a three-team trade that also moved hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
St. Louis got Fedde and Pham from the major league-worst Chicago White Sox, who also sent Kopech to the Dodgers. The NL West leaders also acquired Gold Glove utilityman Tommy Edman from the Cardinals. The White Sox received infield prospects Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez from the Dodgers.
Fedde should provide a boost for the Cards’ rotation as they try to rally into a playoff spot after they missed the postseason last year.
“You always want to be in a position to add and you always want to be in a position to make your team better,” Cardinals veteran infielder Matt Carpenter said.
The 31-year-old Fedde is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts in a successful return to the majors. He finalized a $15 million, two-year deal with the White Sox in December after he pitched for the NC Dinos in South Korea in 2023.
Fedde was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft. He is 28-37 with a 4.92 ERA in 123 big league games, including 109 starts.
Edman won a Gold Glove in 2021 and had five solid seasons with the Cardinals since his debut in 2019. He hasn’t played this year after having offseason surgery on his right wrist, but was on a rehab assignment in Double-A and could be close to returning. He’s also dealt with an ankle injury.
“I’m feeling good,” Edman said. “I’ve gotten a couple weeks of rehab under my belt. The ankle’s feeling a lot better. I’m going to get re-evaluated out in LA.”
The 28-year-old Kopech moved back to the bullpen this season and is 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA, nine saves and 59 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings.
Pham played his first 4 1/2 seasons in the big leagues with the Cardinals before being traded to Tampa Bay. The well-traveled 36-year-old helped the Diamondbacks make the World Series last season after Arizona acquired him at the deadline.
Pham is hitting .266 with five homers and 19 RBIs this season.
The White Sox called up outfielder Dominic Fletcher, left-hander Sammy Peralta and right-hander Touki Toussaint on Monday to fill the holes on their roster after trading away Fedde, Pham and Kopech.
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AP Baseball Writer David Brandt and AP freelancer David Solomon contributed to this report.
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