The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be an interesting team to watch at the trade deadline. They have outperformed their expectations and are in possession of a Wild Card spot despite entering a rebuild.
They also are just three games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, so their playoff hopes are very much alive as the month of July begins and the deadline approaches.
But what they'll do at the trade deadline is ultimately anybody's guess. They could buy, hold or combine buying with selling as long as they remain in contention.
Katie Woo of The Athletic noted however that if they do any selling, their most likely trade candidate is a member of the starting rotation.
[Erick] Fedde is the likeliest to be traded. Much like last season with the Chicago White Sox, Fedde (who is in the final year of a two-year, $7.5 million deal) would garner considerable interest as a low-cost, mid-rotation starter. The purpose of swapping Fedde would be to open up a rotation spot for Michael McGreevy," Woo wrote.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Fedde is struggling this season. After a seven-run outing in Pittsburgh on Monday, he is 3-8 with a 4.56 ERA in 17 starts.
However, contending teams tend to overpay for rental pitching at the trade deadline. Such was the case last year with starters such as Yusei Kikuchi, who the Houston Astros acquired for three top prospects.
Trading Fedde would open up a rotation spot for top pitching prospect Michael McGreevy, who has impressed in his brief time in the Major Leagues.
The Cardinals have plenty of other trade candidates as well, including Steven Matz, Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley. But it appears as though Fedde is the most likely to be moved.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the Cardinals operate at the deadline and what they'll decide to do with Fedde.
More MLB: St. Louis Cardinals named as bubble team as deadline approaches