Cardinals News: Free-agent signing, Erick Fedde trade, more front office changes

The hot stove is certainly heating up around Major League Baseball, and while the St. Louis Cardinals are not expected to be major players in the free agent or trade market, there is still a lot to be determined regarding the fate of some veterans on their roster as well as continued front office shake-ups.

And even in the midst of what should be a boring offseason in terms of additions, we do have one signing to talk about!

This week, the Cardinals inked a minor-league deal with former Detroit Tigers outfielder Ryan Vilade with an invite to Spring Training. Vilade, who was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft and spent a year in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, has played in just 20 big league games, posing a .416 OPS in the process.

Vilade is a career .769 OPS hitter in Triple-A though and boasts very good bat speed. He's seen mostly as a corner outfielder but has also seen time at shortstop as well. This acts as a depth signing for the Cardinals, but still worth keeping an eye on with Vilade going into just his age-26 season. Most of these signings end up being nothing long-term, but sometimes they surprise you and turn into a lot more.

Cardinals News: Erick Fedde trade, more front office changes

In terms of the current major league roster, Erick Fedde seems to be growing in trade value day by day as free-agent starters begin to find new homes on crazy contracts. The latest of which was Luis Severino, who signed with the Sacramento (Las Vegas? Oakland?) Athletics on a three-year, $67 million deal. Servino posted a 3.91 ERA in 31 starts this year but has been wildly inconsistent over the past few years, including a terrible 2023 campaign.

This comes off the heels of lucrative deals for guys like Matthew Boyd, Yusei Kikuchi, and Frankie Montas, and what is the common denominator for all four of these arms who just got paid? Fedde was better than all of them last year.

In 31 starts last year, Fedde posted a 3.30 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 177.1 innings of work. He doesn't have flashy strikeout numbers, but he does boast three-plus pitches that help him produce swings and misses as well as ground balls. And guess what? He only makes $7.5 million next year!

There is nothing out there to suggest that the Cardinals are making Fedde available, and if that remains the case, that would be a major mistake. Fedde is not going to be with the club in 2026 and beyond, but he could fetch them a return that strengthens their position for the future, which must be prioritized.

Speaking of the future, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported a second wave of front office and coaching staff movement to happen this week. Pitching coordinator Tim Leveque has moved into a pitching analyst role, while the club has also hired Matthew Bennett (who was working with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate the last two years) as an MLB analyst. Bennett's role is with the MLB coaching staff.

This comes off the heels of hiring Lary Day (Director of Player Development), Carl Kochan (Director of Performance), and Matt Pierpont (Director of Pitching). These hires were made by the newly hired Assistant General Manager of Player Development and Performance Rob Cerfolio, who was hired by the soon-to-be President of Baseball Operations, Chaim Bloom.

Lots and lots of new faces! I know John Mozeliak remains in his role one more year, but his time is coming to a close, as are names like Gary LaRoque and Matt Slater. Even the former General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations has been reassigned to a new role.

Changes are happening in St. Louis in a real way. It's genuinely exciting. The Chaim Bloom era cannot come soon enough in my opinion.