The Atlanta Braves have not had the season they expected. Entering the season with a higher than 96% chance of making the playoffs, they have dealt with major setbacks offensively and multiple injuries to their rotation.
Atlanta started the season 0-7, and no MLB team has ever made the playoffs with that type of start. That trend is not likely to change this season. The Braves are 44-60 and sit in fourth place in the National League East, a place nobody foresaw them being in. After injuries to Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Grant Holmes, the Braves had no choice but to make a trade for a starter.
Braves Trade for Cardinals’ Erick Fedde
On Sunday afternoon, it was announced by the Atlanta Braves that they would be acquiring St. Louis Cardinals starter Erick Fedde for a player to be named later.
In a corresponding move, the Braves moved Holmes to the 60-Day IL, which likely ends his season. Fedde had a solid 2024 season and a fairly good start to his season, but he has fallen off the rails and struggled mightily as of late.
Fedde has a 5.22 ERA in 101 innings this season and will likely be in a Braves uniform to eat innings for the rest of the season due to so many injuries.
“This news adds context to the trade, as while the Braves are well out of contention, Fedde provides Atlanta with a healthy arm in the wake of a multitude of pitching injuries. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, and now Holmes are all on the IL for the foreseeable future, leaving the Braves with a skeleton crew rotation and plenty of innings to fill over the two remaining months on the schedule,” wrote Mark Polishuk of MLBtraderumors.com.
The Braves will be Fedde’s fourth MLB organization. He spent the most time with the Washington Nationals, where he had a 3.89 ERA in 454.1 innings. As mentioned, he had a decent 2024 campaign. Fedde had a 3.72 ERA in 55.2 innings with the Cardinals last season.
The move solidifies the Cardinals’ motives to “soft-sell”. Fedde is set to be a free agent after this season and will likely test it after his down year. He’s had a problem giving up home runs, with 14 homers surrendered this season.
Braves Deadline Outlook
Well, for the Atlanta Braves, in a season they haven’t anticipated, adding Fedde will at least provide some relief to the rotation. They can’t keep running out minor leaguers and unproven arms, because it doesn’t help their future. At least Fedde will help weather the storm in a disappointing season. This move certainly doesn’t change the Braves’ plans, who hope to sell off some of their tradable assets, like Marcell Ozuna and Pierce Johnson.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, this also proves that they will continue to sell. St. Louis has a couple of highly-touted assets like Ryan Helsley, Sonny Gray, and Steven Matz. Those three arms are all way better than Fedde, and it will be interesting to see if they ultimately end up getting moved.
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