The St. Louis Cardinals are retooling, or at least that's what John Mozeliak would have you believe. Mozeliak and the Cardinals front office – which will soon be fully turned over the Chaim Bloom – has failed to trade many of their controllable veterans.
For those who need a quick calendar check, MLB spring training is in full swing. Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley and more Cards who have been floated in trade rumors since last season ended remain on the roster. An Arenado trade is more unlikely be the day, as the star third baseman is unwilling to extend the short list of teams he'd accept a deal to. A failed trade to the Astros was briefly rekindled, only to fall flat on its face.
While St. Louis may hold onto Arenado for now, they could gain some prospect capital by trading away from their starting rotation. Specifically, Erick Fedde is a pitcher of interest. Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are open to dealing Fedde for the right asking price. Were they to trade Fedde, he would be replaced in the starting rotation by Michael McGreevy.
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The Braves are a natural fit for St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde
Fedde hasn't been connected to any starting pitching-needy teams just yet, but the Atlanta Braves make a lot of sense. Fedde had a 5.6 WAR last season to go along with a 3.30 ERA. He is a dependable middle of the rotation starter, which is something the Braves are lacking right now.
Specifically, the back end of Atlanta's rotation could use some tweaking. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach make for a solid trio the Braves can start the season with. It's unclear when Spencer Strider, former NL Cy Young winner, will make his return from injury. Any number of Grant Holmes, Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, Hurston Waldrep or AJ Smith-Shawver could fill out the rest of the rotation, but none of those pitchers are proven and dependable like Fedde is.
The farm system is working against the Braves, as they have one of the lower-ranked systems in MLB. Yet, Fedde shouldn't cost all that much in the long run, and even if it costs one of Smith-Shawver or Waldrep, it may very well be worth it for a team with World Series aspirations.