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The Houston Astros are in a sticky spot heading into the MLB trade deadline. Recent injuries to Isaac Paredes and Lance McCullers Jr. have derailed Dana Brown's strategy as the July 31 deadline approaches, but the St. Louis Cardinals may have just given the Astros an easy way out.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals designated starting pitcher Erick Fedde for assignment. The right-hander had struggled mightily in his second season with the Cardinals, and was recently added to the trade block. St. Louis, obviously not receiving any meaningful offers for Fedde, decided instead to DFA the veteran a little more than a week before the deadline.
This gives Houston the perfect avenue to avoid all the nonsense at the trade deadline, and grab a quick fix for their starting rotation. The Astros have made it quite clear that they hope to add either a left-handed hitter or a starting pitcher at the deadline, but it seems unlikely that Houston's front office will be given the green to add both.
Cardinals surprisingly DFA Erick Fedde, and just gave Astros a way to cheat the MLB trade deadline
While Fedde is far from the frontline starter he was with the Chicago White Sox back in 2024, he's been a durable pitcher for St. Louis this season. Fedde made 20 starts for the Cardinals and owns a 3-10 record with 5.22 ERA. There is a complete shutout mixed in among all the horrible numbers Fedde has posted lately. The right-hander has allowed 26 earned runs in his last five starts.
But if Fedde could just help keep the Astros rotation afloat while the team waits for their injured starters to return, it would allow Brown and Co. to double their efforts in search of a left-handed bat at the MLB trade deadline.
McCullers is dealing with a blister, but is expected to return at some point this season. Spencer Arrighetti, Luis Garcia, J.P. France, and Christian Javier are all looking to get back sooner rather than later as well. Fedde wouldn't necessarily fix the Astros rotation, but could give it some length until reinforcements arrive.