MLB trade roundup: Cardinals add RHP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham

The St. Louis Cardinals acquired right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham on Monday as part of a three-team trade that also moved hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

St. Louis got Fedde and Pham from the major-league-worst Chicago White Sox, who sent Kopech to the Dodgers. The NL West leaders also acquired Gold Glove utilityman Tommy Edman from the Cardinals. The White Sox received infield prospects Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez from the Dodgers.

Fedde should provide a boost for the Cards’ rotation as they try to rally into a playoff spot after they missed the postseason last year.

“You always want to be in a position to add, and you always want to be in a position to make your team better,” Cardinals veteran infielder Matt Carpenter said.

The 31-year-old Fedde is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts in a successful return to the majors. He finalized a $15 million, two-year deal with the White Sox in December after he pitched for the NC Dinos in South Korea in 2023.

Fedde was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft. He is 28-37 with a 4.92 ERA in 123 big-league games, including 109 starts.

Edman won a Gold Glove in 2021 and had five solid seasons with the Cardinals since his debut in 2019. He hasn’t played this year after having offseason surgery on his right wrist but was on a rehab assignment in Double-A and could be close to returning. He’s also dealt with an ankle injury.

“I’m feeling good,” Edman said. “I’ve gotten a couple weeks of rehab under my belt. The ankle’s feeling a lot better. I’m going to get re-evaluated out in LA.”

The 28-year-old Kopech moved back to the bullpen this season and is 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA, nine saves and 59 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings.

Pham played his first 4 1/2 seasons in the big leagues with the Cardinals before being traded to Tampa Bay. The well-traveled 36-year-old helped the Diamondbacks make the World Series last season after Arizona acquired him at the deadline.

Pham is hitting .266 with five homers and 19 RBIs this season.

The White Sox called up outfielder Dominic Fletcher, left-hander Sammy Peralta and right-hander Touki Toussaint on Monday to fill the holes on their roster after trading away Fedde, Pham and Kopech.

In other pitching moves, the playoff-contending Kansas City Royals acquired veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league left-hander Walter Pennington.

Lorenzen went 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers after signing late in spring training and making his season debut April 15. In his final start for Texas on Saturday, Lorenzen allowed four runs and five hits while recording only two outs at Toronto. He then pitched again Sunday and gave up one run over four innings in relief.

The 32-year-old Lorenzen was a first-time All-Star last season with Detroit and threw a no-hitter for Philadelphia after being traded. He signed a $4.5 million, one-year contract with the reigning World Series champion Rangers on March 23. Primarily a starter the past three seasons, Lorenzen is 45-44 with a 4.08 ERA over 361 career games (87 starts) with Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Texas, the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit.

Kansas City went into Monday, a day before MLB’s trade deadline, in the American League’s third wild-card spot, one game ahead Boston. Texas was third in the AL West, and six games behind the Royals in the wild-card race, with four teams between them.

The Royals had two relievers exit Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs after getting hurt. Right-hander John Schreiber tweaked his knee when covering first base after getting a grounder on the only pitch he threw. Right-hander Hunter Harvey, whom they got in a trade with Washington two weeks ago, later left with a back spasm after throwing only seven of his 22 pitches for strikes.

Pennington made his big-league debut July 5, when he struck out one of the two batters he faced at Colorado for the final two outs in an inning. The 26-year-old lefty is 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 37 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, with 79 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. The Rangers assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

Also Monday, the Cincinnati Reds picked up veteran first baseman Ty France and cash from Seattle in exchange for minor-league catcher Andruw Salcedo. The 30-year-old France, a 2022 AL All-Star, was designated for assignment last week by the Mariners after hitting .223 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 88 games.