Re-Grading the Cardinals’ biggest trade deadline move with postseason hopes now dead

The St. Louis Cardinals didn't pull off the biggest trade of the deadline, but they certainly executed one of, if not the most interesting deal of the many made, for the simple reason of it being of the three-team variety.

The Cardinals joined forces with the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers to pull off a seven-player deal. Here are the full terms.

From a Cardinals perspective, the team acquired Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham while shipping out Tommy Edman to Los Angeles. The Edman inclusion was a bit curious, as despite his injury he was a really valuable utility player for St. Louis, but the Cardinals addressed arguably their two biggest needs in this deal.

They needed starting pitching help and got that with Fedde. They needed a bat to crush left-handed pitching and they got that with Pham. Giving up only Edman for both players felt like a solid deal.

Unfortunately, hindsight is 20/20. Not only have the Cardinals failed to play well post-deadline, but the deal hasn't aged how they would've liked at all.

Cardinals big trade deadline deal does not look good in hindsight

The Cardinals pulled off the trade sitting at 54-51 on the year, just 1.0 game back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL. They had dealt with their bumps in the road, but they were very much in contention for a playoff spot. Addressing their two biggest needs would surely help, right?

Well, after dropping their second in a row to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Cardinals are now 74-74 and 7.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL as of this writing. They aren't mathematically eliminated yet, but their chances are beyond the point of being realistic.

Had the Cardinals dipped solely due to their National League competition playing extremely well, that would've been somewhat palatable. The Cardinals being under .500 after their big deal, though, is a bad look, and it's not even as if the guys they acquired have done much.

Fedde, the big piece of the deal, had a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts with the White Sox. That ERA has skyrocketed to 4.43 in his eight starts and 42.2 innings as a Cardinal. He has completed six innings just twice, and the Cardinals have won only two of his starts. His strikeout rate has dipped since putting on a Cardinals uniform, while his walk rate and home run rate have increased - not the best formula.

Tommy Pham got off to a good start in his return to St. Louis but things did not end well as he recorded just three hits in his last 39 at-bats before being DFA'd. To make matters worse, Pham is hitting over .300 as of this writing in 11 games with the Royals, leading off regularly for a team likely to make the playoffs.

Finally, to add the ultimate insult to injury, Tommy Edman has provided a spark for the Dodgers, hitting over .300 with a .818 OPS in 24 games and he's been particularly great of late, homering four times in a two-game span earlier this week.

To sum up, both Fedde and Pham took steps back after the trade. Pham immediately improved upon getting DFA'd, and Edman has been great with the Dodgers. This is all while the Cardinals have sputtered, falling out of postseason contention.

Fedde does have another year at a very cheap $7.5 million which saves this deal a bit, but make no mistake. The Cardinals did not add Pham to the deal planning to get rid of him a month after completing it. They did not trade Edman expecting him to be as good as he has been. For this deal to get any better for St. Louis, Fedde is going to have to improve considerably in 2025.

Cardinals Re-Grade: C