Here’s how Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham can boost the St. Louis Cardinals

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, the teams announced.

The Cardinals also sent 17-year-old right-handed pitcher Oliver Gonzalez to the Dodgers, received cash from the White Sox, and will receive either cash or a player to be named from Los Angeles. Minor league catcher Nick Raposo was designated for assignment in order to open the necessary room on the 40-player roster.

“We went into our deadline approach where we could find someone we felt could help our rotation and someone that could get a start in October should we make it,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “That was something we were very interested in, and also someone who would be around for next year.

“The other goal we had going into this was trying to find a right-handed bat. Obviously there are a lot of different options out there, but one thing that we are super excited about with Tommy was just the fact that we have a long history with him, and just, whenever he seems to go to a new place, he performs really well and just his ability to be a competitor.”

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.

“He’s pitching with confidence and his mix plays,” manager Oli Marmol said. “He’s shown that all year and it’s going to help us going down the stretch here. Adding someone like him who has been steady is important.”

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.

He has played for seven other teams since leaving the Cardinals, and at many of those stops, has extolled the virtues of the system in which he was developed.

“I love Tommy Pham,” said infielder Matt Carpenter, who was Pham’s teammate during each of their first stints in St. Louis. “Tommy Pham is a tenacious, hard worker. He’s a good teammate. He plays the game hard. He wants to win.”

“We got a guy that lives and dies for winning baseball games,” Marmol added. “Him walking through those (clubhouse) doors is going to be very meaningful. Several players have come in here and asked for him by name, and for a reason.”

Edman, 29, has not played in the majors this season after a complicated recovery from off-season wrist surgery. His rehab has also been slowed by a sprained ankle suffered while fielding ground balls at Busch Stadium earlier this month, though he has been engaged in a rehab assignment at Double-A Springfield.

Edman is under team control for one more season before reaching free agency, and is a plus defender at all three outfield positions as well as second base, third base and shortstop. He won the NL Gold Glove at second base in 2021 and was one of the most successfully developed homegrown players in recent Cardinals history, but the emergence of infielders like Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman as well as center fielder Michael Siani made his $9.5 million salary for 2025 a chip the Cardinals were willing to move in order to create payroll flexibility.

“I’m extremely grateful for the time that I’ve gotten to spend in the St Louis Cardinals organization, and everyone’s been amazing,” Edman said shortly after his locker was cleaned out. “I’m just really grateful for everything I’ve had here.”

Pham will join the Cardinals on Tuesday at Busch Stadium, and Fedde will meet the team in Chicago at Wrigley Field on Thursday. By rule, traded players have 72 hours to report to their new team; that decision with Fedde will allow the Cardinals to maximize their roster this week against the Texas Rangers.

With a day to go until the trade deadline, Mozeliak said the Cardinals will “remain open minded” regarding further moves, in particular the search for additional relief pitching.

The team is still trying to trade reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who was designated for assignment on Sunday, rather than releasing him and finding themselves responsible for the full freight of his remaining contract.

The addition of Pham also seemingly squeezes out struggling outfielder Dylan Carlson, who Mozeliak described as, “still a part of our organization right now,” but added that the club would “see where that goes” over the next day. Carlson does have minor league options remaining should he remain on the team after the deadline and with the Cardinals needing to find an active roster spot for Pham.