3 Cardinals whose trade value has risen, 2 who've seen it plummet to start the season

Erick Fedde's trade value has dropped

I hate to say I told you so, but I, along with others, was clamoring for the Cardinals to trade Erick Fedde all offseason. So while I'm not going to say that to any of you, I'll gladly tell the Cardinals "I told you so" until proven otherwise.

I am not an Erick Fedde "hater." I actually think he is a pretty good pitcher. I liked the trade for him last deadline. I think he's a valuable player on the contract he is on. All of those things can be true, and I can also believe it was a major mistake for the Cardinals not to trade him this offseason.

Fedde, in his return to Major League Baseball after a brief stint in the KBO, was one of the more valuable starters in baseball last year, starting 31 games while posting a 3.30 ERA in the process. Making just $7.5 million a year, he provided the White Sox and Cardinals so much more value than what some free agents from this past offseason produced who got $20 million dollar annual values to show for it.

We know at least two teams were interested in acquiring Fedde this offseason, and my guess is that list is actually a lot longer. No, I don't think the Cardinals could have received a "haul" for Fedde, but with how thin their farm system is right now, value for the future should have been prioritized.

Yeah, I get it, they wanted to "surprise" people this year, and having Fedde should help with that, and yeah, he could be valuable at the deadline, but that required another great season from him this year. Well, he's been mediocre thus far, and I am afraid that the Cardinals are now going to completely miss the opportunity to recoup value from him.

Fedde's ERA thus far has ballooned to 4.68, his xERA is even worse at 4.86, and he's seen his walk rate double while his strikeout rate has almost been cut in half. There is a lot in his profile that suggests he is going to see a steep regression from his production last season, and that is a problem.

Yes, he's had some "good" outings this year, but the underlying metrics tell you that he has not been good this year, and if we don't see him turn a corner here soon, I really don't think he'll be a valuable asset for the Cardinals to move this year.