Recent MLB signing illustrates potential value of 2 Cardinals pitchers

The 2024-2025 offseason saw pitchers on the market getting paid a pretty penny for their services. Nathan Eovaldi received a three-year $75 million contract from the Texas Rangers, Yusei Kikuchi got a three-year $63 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, and Luis Severino agreed to a three-year $67 million contract with the Athletics. As spring training nears its conclusion, another free agent domino has fallen, as Patrick Corbin signed with the Rangers for one year and $1.1 million.

Corbin's signing is another indication of the high demand for pitchers around the league, and 2025 could be a marquee year for teams who are willing to flip pitching at the trade deadline. The St. Louis Cardinals may be in position to be one of these teams by the end of July, as Erick Fedde and Steven Matz are in the final year of their contracts and could be prime candidates to be dealt at the deadline when contending teams are in need of pitching.

The Cardinals are likely to make bank if they part ways with Matz or Fedde.

It's difficult to overstate how poorly Corbin has pitched over the last few seasons, so the fact that the Rangers took a flier on him after Jon Gray and Cody Bradford went down with injury speaks volumes about the desire for players who can throw the ball in the vague direction of the plate. Since 2021, Corbin has struggled to the tune of a 5.71 ERA and an ERA+ of 71. However, the best ability is availability, and Corbin is the only pitcher in baseball who has made at least 31 starts in every season since 2017, sans the shortened 2020 season.

Matz has not been gifted the durability charm during his tenure in St. Louis, but he has shown flashes of success when healthy, although in 2024, it was mainly out of the bullpen. Matz has had a stellar spring training in 2025, and if he can carry it over to the regular season, the Cardinals could find themselves with a nice little trade chip on hand.

Fedde, meanwhile, looked to have revitalized his career after pitching in South Korea in 2023. The Cardinals acquired him near the trade deadline in 2024 after he pitched to a 3.11 ERA with the Chicago White Sox, and he was a steady contributor in the Cardinals rotation, owning a 3.72 ERA despite a misleading 2-5 record. The Cardinals could be on the selling side of Fedde this time, and many teams would covet his services.

Miles Mikolas is also in the last year of his deal with the Cardinals, but he has performed with eerily similar statistics to Corbin over the last several seasons. His pitch-to-contact approach no longer works in today's brand of baseball, so he would be unlikely to command any significant return. The Cardinals will almost certainly allow him to walk in free agency following the season.

The Rangers signed one of the worst pitchers of the past several seasons in their desperation for mound reinforcements. That should speak volumes about the premium that is placed on even adequate pitchers. Matz, Fedde and the Cardinals could all be in for big rewards at the deadline in 2025.