Oli Marmol returns to his roots in rightly calling out Cardinals trade asset

With the MLB trade deadline a little more than three weeks out, front offices across the league are beginning to crunch the numbers and decide which players should and shouldn't stay on the roster. Plenty of teams will be looking to gear up for a push toward October. Others will attempt to kick the can down the road and restock their farm systems.

Which direction will the St. Louis Cardinals go? That much is unclear. There are already signs of a power struggle between outgoing president John Mozeliak and his successor, Chaim Bloom. And now Oli Marmol is turning up the heat on one of the Cards' most obvious trade candidates.

Erick Fedde is slumping on the mound these days. His last start ended in disaster, coughing up two hits, four walks and three earned runs in just 1.1 innings. He has now allowed 17 runs over his last three starts (10.0 innings). Fedde's season-long ERA sits at 4.29 with a 1.47 WHIP through 18 starts.

Marmol has never shied away from overtly challenging his players, often to the chagrin of fans (and even sometimes his players). But in this instance, it feels right to light a fire under Fedde. Marmol says the Cardinals will attempt to chart a more productive path forward.

"We'll use tomorrow as an off day to take a step back and figure out what (the next steps) looks like," Marmol told reporters. "(Fedde) has to find a solution to what's going on... Continuing to go down this road doesn't seem beneficial at the moment."

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Oli Marmol plans to 'figure out' what happens next for struggling Erick Fedde

It's unclear how exactly St. Louis can improve the situation. Fedde became something of a cult hero last season, returning from a stint in the KBO to become one of the few bright spots on a historically bad Chicago White Sox team. He was dealt to St. Louis at the deadline, where he continued to thrive, despite the Cardinals' own collective shortcomings.

Now in the final year of his contract and without much value around the league, the 32-year-old Fedde needs to change something. Whether it's a change in role, a change in mechanics, or a change in preparation, the current cocktail is not working. Fedde's whole routine needs to be evaluated, then reevaluated.

That appears to be the rough game plan moving forward. But the real question is, how much longer will Fedde stay in a Cardinals' uniform. The All-Star break should provide a nice pause in the action for Fedde to hit the reset button, but the Cards are right on the line between contending and not contending in a competitive division. Trading Fedde for even meager returns would fit a retooling timeline, which aligns with newcomer Chaim Bloom's longstanding front-office priorities. Or, if John Mozeliak decides the Cardinals want to win and that Fedde isn't helping them reach that goal, he could still very well end up on the trade block.

For all the flak Marmol has taken in the past, it's clear he cares about his players and is serious about addressing problems in the locker room and on the field. In the case of Fedde, however, his best efforts may be moot if Mozeliak, Bloom and the powers that be can find a taker before the July 31 deadline.