According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers have been in contact with the White Sox regarding starting pitcher Erick Fedde. The Cardinals are also known to be interested in Fedde, and he is one of the pitchers the Astros have reportedly expressed interest in. Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Mets have also inquired about Fedde with the White Sox, but it’s unclear how serious they are about the acquisition.
Fedde is one of the most promising targets for teams looking to bolster their middle rotation. The right-hander enters tonight’s game against the Mariners with a 2.98 ERA in 117 2/3 innings, with above-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers. His .261 batting average will likely improve and his ERA could climb above 3.00, but the former Nationals player looks like a third-place starter-caliber product.
The Red Sox signed Fedde to a two-year, $15 million contract after his MVP season in Korea. This was one of the most valuable acquisitions of the offseason and should give the Red Sox a big return on a promising player. Fedde is making $7.5 million per season. His remaining payments are less than $2.6 million, making him attractive to both teams with low payrolls and teams concerned about the luxury tax. Of course, the Brewers fall into the former category.
Milwaukee already has a back-end starter in the rotation, acquiring Aaron Civale from the Rays this month. But Fedde is a better fit to start postseason games. Even with Civale on the team, Milwaukee has a patchwork rotation behind Freddy Peralta. They’re getting good work from veteran Collin Rea and 26-year-old rookie Tobias Myers, but Milwaukee could certainly use another starter.
Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweeted yesterday that the Brewers are open to potentially trading a major league player. The Red Sox are near the bottom of a rebuild and won’t be competitive for a few seasons, so they can afford to take a chance on a lower level minor leaguer, but also bet on a controllable major leaguer who doesn’t have a significant role. Milwaukee has a wealth of outfield talent. FanSided’s Robert Murray wrote yesterday that 25-year-old Garrett Mitchell is part of the Brewers’ trade talks.
To be clear, Murray did not report that the Brewers had specific discussions with the White Sox about Mitchell or that Chicago was interested in him as part of the Fedde deal. My guess is that a gamble on a player with Mitchell’s athleticism could be intriguing for the White Sox. (The same could be said for former top prospect Joey Wiemer, who is still just 25 but has yet to make it in the majors.) Chicago made a similar gamble by acquiring Dominique Fletcher in a trade with the Diamondbacks this offseason.
The Mets were not expected to add any pitchers to their starting rotation. As recently as a few weeks ago, New York was considering a trade for a starting pitcher, based on optimism that Kodai Senga would return from the disabled list and Christian Scott would return from the minor leagues. But Scott suffered a rectus femoris sprain and Senga strained his calf last night, likely keeping him out for the rest of the season.
That could make the Mets a surprise bidder to bolster their starting rotation. In fact, The Athletic’s Will Sammon wrote that New York is likely to at least explore the market. The Mets were reportedly runner-up to Fedde in free agency last winter and were optimistic about the pitcher even before he made it back to the majors.