One of the best storylines of the 2024 season for the White Sox is the comeback of Erick Fedde. After spending 2017-2022 with the Washington Nationals, Fedde played the 2023 season in Korea to hopefully revitalize his career, as he had struggled the last few years in the major leagues.
It seems that Fedde more than revitalized his career, as he has turned into one of the best pitchers in the major leagues this year. According to Baseball Reference, he is currently tied for third best pitching WAR in the MLB. That is fantastic, and not many people could have predicted this kind of a breakout season for Fedde.
Now, due to this fantastic performance by Fedde and the fact he has another year of cheap control in 2025, he will be an extremely valuable trade asset at the deadline. It would be very nice to keep Fedde around, but since he is 31 he doesn't really fit with the timeline of contention for the White Sox. Plus, I'm sure the White Sox have a few pitching prospects they would like to get an extended look at in the second half of the season.
Fedde will get the White Sox an excellent prospect, as he is almost guaranteed to bring back a top-100 caliber player in a deal. Teams are extremely desperate for pitching at the deadline, so if a team can pick up one of the best pitchers in baseball with an extra year of control, they will pay a premium to do so. Fedde's lack of a track record may lessen the return by a little, but plenty of teams will be very interested.
Let's take a look at some of the best landing spots for Fedde at the deadline:
Baltimore Orioles
This is a no brainer, as the Baltimore Orioles have had a few major injuries to their pitching staff. The Orioles have the lineup to compete for a World Series, they just need to add a few arms in their rotation.
Fedde would fit perfectly in Baltimore, as they could use another front end of the rotation arm to make their playoff push. Luckily for the White Sox, the Orioles have a surplus of top position player prospects, so there is definitely a deal here.
The Orioles have been known to be stingy when trading their prospects, but with all the injuries piling up, they might need to pull the trigger. Heston Kjerstad would be a great target for the White Sox, but they might have to throw in a bullpen arm to get the deal done.
The Orioles may be hesitant to trade Kjerstad since he is ranked #20 overall in baseball, so if they don't want to trade him, they could offer one of Enrique Bradfield Jr., Connor Norby, or Dylan Beavers to headline the deal. It's likely the Orioles would have to add another player or two in the deal, but that would be a fantastic deal for the White Sox. The Orioles are one of the best teams to target in a trade, as they have plenty of talent in their system that could really help the White Sox.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers could be a sleeper team for Erick Fedde, as they now have five starting pitchers on the 60 day injured list. Since the Brewers are in first place, it would be beneficial to add a starting pitcher that could help keep that division lead.
The Brewers are so desperate for pitching that they traded for Dallas Keuchel last week, and White Sox fans are well aware on how much he has left in the tank.
The Brewers do have three top 30 prospects, so the White Sox could potentially try and pry one of those players away in a deal, as the White Sox could add in a bullpen arm or a bat if needed to try and get the job done.
The deal might not line up with what the White Sox want to do if they can't get one of their top 100 prospects, but if the Brewers are serious about winning, they could be desperate enough to trade one of them, which would be a win for the White Sox.
Los Angeles Dodgers
We already took a look at what a deal could look like with the Dodgers for Luis Robert Jr. or Garret Crochet, but they might be an even better fit for Erick Fedde due to their lack of top end prospect talent.
They have catcher/first basemen Dalton Rushing(#50) and outfielder Josue De Paula(#80) on the list. If the Dodgers were willing to do a one for one for either of them, that would be a fantastic deal for the White Sox. It seems that the Dodgers hold De Paula in high regard, but if the White Sox could swap Fedde for him, that would be a huge win.
If the Dodgers wanted to keep both of their top prospects, they could offer a pretty solid package of a few of their top-10 guys that could get the deal done, as they have a few players that used to be on the top-100 list, but have now fallen off due to various reasons.
The White Sox are reportedly scouting the Dodgers system, so a potential trade for a Fedde remains a strong possibility for both teams, and could be very beneficial for both sides.
Regardless of who the White Sox trade Fedde to, they should get a very nice return, which can really help bolster their already ascending prospect pool.
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