The St. Louis Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and the Kansas City Royals acquired veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen as several playoff hopeful teams made deals Monday, the day before MLB’s trade deadline.
Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham went from the lowly White Sox to the Cardinals as part of a three-team deal. Chicago also sent hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Los Angeles also got utilityman Tommy Edman and a pitching prospect from the Cardinals, and sent three infield prospects to Chicago.
The Dodgers later reacquired utiltiyman Amed Rosario from Tampa Bay, getting him in a deadline deal for the second year in a row - they got him from Cleveland last July for Noah Syndergaard. Rosario signed with the Rays as a free agent this spring, then hit .307 with two homers and 26 RBIs in 76 games.
Reigning World Series champion Texas, which went into Monday four games under .500 and in third place in the AL West, traded Lorenzen to the Royals for minor league left-handed reliever Walter Pennington.
Seattle, in a tight race with Houston for the AL West lead, made its third significant move ahead of the deadline by getting veteran Justin Turner from Toronto for a minor league outfielder. The Mariners added Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia in a pair of trades last week.
AL Central leader Cleveland added experienced outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington for a minor league left-hander and two infielders. The 28-year-old Thomas is batting .253 with eight homers in 77 games this season, along with 28 stolen bases and a 25-game on-base streak for the longest active in the major leagues. His 24 outfield assists since the start of last season are the most in the majors.
The 31-year-old Fedde should provide a boost for the Cards’ rotation as they try to rally into a playoff spot after they missed the postseason last year.
Fedde is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts in a successful return to the majors. He finalized a $15 million, two-year deal with the White Sox in December after he pitched for the NC Dinos in South Korea in 2023. A first-round draft pick by Washington in the 2014 amateur draft, he is 28-37 with a 4.92 ERA in 123 big league games (109 starts).
Lorenzen went 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers. In his last start Saturday, he allowed four runs and five hits while recording only two outs at Toronto. He then pitched again Sunday, and gave up one run over four innings in relief.
Kansas City went into Monday in the American League’s third wild card spot, one game ahead of Boston. The Cardinals were one game behind the New York Mets for the NL’s third wild card.
The 32-year-old Lorenzen was a first-time All-Star last season with Detroit, and threw a no-hitter for Philadelphia after being traded. He signed a $4.5 million, one-year contract with Texas on March 23. Primarily a starter the past three seasons, Lorenzen is 45-44 with a 4.08 ERA over 361 career games (87 starts) with Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Texas, the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he looked forward to the “depth and versatility” the right-hander would provide.
Kansas City had two right-handed relievers exit Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs after getting hurt. John Schreiber tweaked his knee when covering first base and went on the 15-day injured list Monday. Hunter Harvey, who they got in a trade with Washington two weeks ago, was day to day after leaving with a back spasm.
The Cincinnati Reds picked up veteran first baseman Ty France and cash from Seattle in exchange for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo. The 30-year-old France, a 2022 AL All-Star, was designated for assignment last week by the Mariners after hitting .223 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 88 games.
Turner is expected for now to get the bulk of playing time at first base for Seattle, but can also play third base and was the designated hitter for 71 of the 89 games he appeared in for Toronto. The 39-year-old hit .254 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 89 games for the Blue Jays, but since June 1 has batted .301 with an .800 OPS.
“This guy’s been around a long time, has gone through a lot in his career and he’s been on winning teams, he’s been on a lot of winning teams. Knows certain ways winning teams go about things,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
Boston acquired right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke in an exchange of former first-round draft picks. The Red Sox then optioned Priester (2-6, 5.04 ERA) to Triple-A Worcester.
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