5 Cardinals who are most responsible for the club's demise in 2025

Erick Fedde

When the Cardinals traded Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal at the 2024 trade deadline, they thought Erick Fedde, their main return in the trade, would fill a hole in the rotation and potentially allow them to secure a spot in the postseason. Fedde had reinvented himself after winning the pitching Triple Crown in the KBO in 2023 and returning stateside to pitch for the Chicago White Sox in the first half of 2024. Although the Cardinals ultimately failed in their bid for the playoffs, Fedde served as a steady piece in their rotation after the acquisition, holding a 3.72 ERA in 55.2 innings and contributing as a solid No. 3 starter.

That all unraveled in 2025. After starting the season with an ERA of 3.86, capped off by a complete game shutout on May 9, Fedde fell off a cliff, posting a 6.38 ERA in his remaining 12 starts with the Cardinals, and the team designated him for assignment in late July after he held a 3-10 record and a 5.22 ERA in 2025 with the team. They then traded him to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Fedde's last five starts with the Cardinals were particularly dire, as he went five innings just once and allowed 26 earned runs in 17.2 innings while surrendering eight home runs over that span. Opponents' whiff rates on his sinker, sweeper and cutter all dipped significantly, and unsurprisingly, his strikeout rate plummeted from 20.5% in 2024 to only 14.1% in 2025, which was the largest decrease of any pitcher who threw at least 100 innings in both 2024 and 2025.

According to an article from FanGraphs, Fedde's arm angle changed slightly in 2025, which modified the shape of his pitches and led him to be smacked around. His cut fastball was especially ineffective: Opponents hit .322 and slugged .565 against the pitch during Fedde's Cardinals tenure this year.

The disastrous performance of the rotation in July led the Cardinals to keep upstart prospect Michael McGreevy in their staff and consider going to a six-man rotation, but the front office nixed that idea when they designated Fedde for assignment.

Fedde's meltdown caused the Cardinals to spiral out of serious postseason consideration as the trade deadline neared, and his issues were a major reason for the Cardinals' decision to punt on the season and sell their assets while unloading Fedde for almost nothing. Had the Cardinals pulled the plug on Fedde earlier instead of holding on to their belief that he would figure things out, it's worth wondering if they'd be in a playoff position as the season nears the end.