MLB trade grades: Cardinals, Dodgers 3-team blockbuster sends baseball world into chaos

In what was expected to be a quiet MLB trade deadline there have been plenty of moves thus far, and we're still more than 24 hours away from the deadline itself. Things only seem to be getting crazier with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting that a three-team deal is close to being finalized.

The deal features the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago White Sox. With only one of those three teams being sellers, the details of this deal were sure to be interesting.

MLB Trade Grades: Who won this blockbuster three-team trade?

Here's the full trade according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, and it's a doozy:

Acquiring a pitcher of Fedde's caliber is a big win for the Cardinals, a team in dire need of some starting pitching help. St. Louis is in need of a No. 2 starter to slot behind Sonny Gray and Fedde has pitched like one, posting a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts and 121.2 innings of work. He's far from overpowering, but throws strikes and avoids too much hard contact.

The real value of the Cardinals acquiring Fedde, though, is the fact that he's owed just $7.5 million next season, which is peanuts for a starting pitcher, let alone one pitching as well as Fedde is.

In addition to Fedde, the Cardinals fill another major hole by acquiring Tommy Pham from the White Sox. One of their biggest weaknesses has been hitting against left-handed pitching all year, and Pham has a .848 OPS against southpaws.

The surprising part of this deal is that the Cardinals gave up Tommy Edman, a valuable player, to a team they're competing in the National League with, the Dodgers. Edman has yet to play in a MLB game yet this season as he has dealt with injuries but is a switch-hitter who can lead off, steals bases, and is a terrific defender at a plethora of positions.

Edman can provide the Dodgers value with Mookie Betts on the IL as a utility man and will presumably settle into a consistent role in their outfield when he comes back. As is the case with Fedde, Edman is under control for the 2025 season on a very reasonable $9.5 million salary.

The Dodgers also landed Michael Kopech in the deal, a power arm who should help their bullpen. He's had a rough year for the White Sox, but Kopech has always had a ton of potential and even this season has fanned 59 batters in 43.2 innings of work. Command will always be an issue, but with the Dodgers, there's no reason to believe Kopech won't break out.

The White Sox, a team going nowhere any time soon, did exactly what they should do here by trading Fedde, a player with more value now than he ever will have, in exchange for pieces who can help them in the future. The problem is that it appears they did not get nearly enough for three potent trade assets.

Miguel Vargas was at one point an exciting prospect in the Dodgers system but has just a .658 OPS in parts of three seasons. He might perform better with regular playing time, but that's to be determined. While he's a good piece to add, he doesn't feel like he should be a centerpiece if a deal like this was on the table.

The most exciting prospect going back to Chicago is Jeral Perez, Los Angeles' No. 17 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Despite the fact that he's just 19 years old, Perez has put together a solid full season in Single-A, putting up a .800 OPS in 75 games played. Additionally, the Dodgers got one more infield prospect, Alexander Albertus, and might be getting a fringe prospect as well.

Somehow, the Cardinals managed to get both Erick Fedde, a solid and controllable starting pitcher, and Tommy Pham, while giving up only Tommy Edman. The Cardinals will miss Edman, but they gained more than enough here to offset losing him.

The Dodgers did pretty well here as well, acquiring Edman and Kopech for Miguel Vargas who did not have much of a future in Los Angeles as well as prospects who are not at the top of their rankings.

The White Sox are the team that lost in this deal. They were smart to trade the players that they did, but this return does not feel close to meaningful enough. Essentially, they got three players who they hope can help them in the future for three players who are impactful now, two of which aren't even free agents after the year. Prospects can change the outlook of any given trade, but as of now, it feels as if the White Sox would've done better if they traded these players away in separate deals.

It's not as if they got a major high-end prospect to make only three players coming back acceptable, and they didn't get enough quantity to offset the lack of quality. The worst part is, the White Sox didn't even wait until deadline day to do this deal. As teams got more desperate in what's clearly been a seller's market, the White Sox might've been able to get much more. It's just a major head-scratcher from Chicago's perspective.

Cardinals trade grade: A
Dodgers trade grade: B+
White Sox trade grade: D