As the new year approaches, the Atlanta Braves should be on the trade market radar.
Though the Braves’ rotation looks excellent if everything comes together, there are still many questions following Max Fried’s departure.
Chris Sale recently completed his first healthy season in six years, Spencer Strider is back from injury, and Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach have yet to face a full innings workload typical of a big-league starter.
With that in mind, the Braves could make a huge deal this winter to improve the depth of their high-potential rotation.
On Tuesday, Zachary Rotman of FanSided predicted that the Braves would target St. Louis Cardinals starter Erick Fedde, who has only one year left on his contract inked last winter, in a possible blockbuster trade.
“The Braves, in an ideal world, would love to pull off a trade for a young controllable starting pitcher, but they probably don’t have the prospects to get a deal done,” according to Rotman. “They do have the prospects, though, to acquire Erick Fedde in a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.”
“The retooling (Cardinals) shouldn’t have much of an issue trading the 31-year-old entering his final year under contract, and the Braves have more than enough to make a deal happen.”
Fedde, 31, returned to the MLB in 2024 after two seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization, and he quickly found far more success than he had before his overseas stint. His two-year, $15 million deal has already proved to be a steal.
Fedde had a 3.30 ERA in 31 starts for the Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, totaling 177 1/3 innings. He also had 5.6 bWAR, which ranked sixth among all major league pitchers.
The Braves may have to give up a top prospect or two in order to acquire Fedde, but he would surely fill out one of the league’s greatest rotations if they were able to secure him. It is a matter of which other teams are interested in the righty and can outbid Atlanta’s prospective offer.
