The White Sox have agreed to a trade sending right-handers Erick Fedde to the Cardinals and Michael Kopech to the Dodgers in a three-team deal.
The Sox are receiving left fielder Miguel Vargas and infield prospects Jaral Perez and Alexander Albertus from the Dodgers in return. Outfielder Tommy Pham is going from the Sox to the Cardinals along with Fedde, and infielder Tommy Edman goes from the Cardinals to Los Angeles, according to a source.
Vargas, 24, owns a .239/.313/.423 hitting line with three homers in 30 games in the majors. He has also played third base, second base and first base in the minors. Perez is rated No. 17, Albertus is No. 23.
Fedde, 31, is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA over 21 starts in the best of his seven seasons. After dominating the Korean Baseball Organization as its best pitcher last season, he was signed to a two-year, $15 million contract that heightened his appeal to contending teams looking to add a quality starting rotation piece at an affordable price for the next season and half.
Kopech owns a 4.74 ERA over 43 relief appearances this season.
With uncertainties entering into the potential trade scenarios for left-hander Garrett Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr., Fedde ascended to perhaps the most desirable of the Sox multiple trade chips.
Crochet made it known he’d want a contract extension should he be subject to pitching in October with his new team, and Robert’s inconsistencies of late, following his latest injury suffered in the first month of the season, have taken some glow off his All-Star season of 2023, when he added a Silver Slugger Award to his 2020 Gold Glove as a rookie. Robert enters Monday, with the Sox riding their second 14-game losing streak, owning a .210/.282/.449 average after batting .162/.219/.294 with 33 strikeouts in his last 18 games.
The deadline is Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with [pitching coach Ethan] Katz and director of pitching Brian [Bannister],” Fedde said of his half-season stay with the Sox. “They’ve put a ton of time into me, making me the best pitcher I can be. Obviously, it’s been tough. We haven’t won a ton of games.”
This is a developing story
