ARLINGTON – The Braves made a move to bolster their rotation depth on Sunday, acquiring veteran right-hander Erick Fedde from the Cardinals.
Shortly after Sunday’s loss to the Rangers, the Braves announced that they had acquired Fedde and cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred right-hander Grant Holmes (right elbow inflammation) to the 60-day injured list. Holmes landed on the IL earlier on Sunday.
All five starters from the Braves’ Opening Day rotation are on the IL, as Holmes joined Chris Sale (fractured left ribcage), Reynaldo López (right shoulder inflammation), Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured right elbow) and AJ Smith-Shawver (strained right elbow).
“We’ve just got to keep going,” manager Brian Snitker said after Sunday’s game. “We're going to figure out a way and piece this thing together. That's all you can do, you know, 'cause the games aren't going to stop because we lost our rotation. We're going to keep mixing and matching and piecing games together and go from there.”
Fedde, who was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Wednesday, gave up six runs on seven hits over three innings in the Cardinals’ 8-4 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday. He was 0-7 with a 6.38 ERA over his last 12 starts with St. Louis.
Fedde acknowledged his disappointing stretch after that outing.
“The truth is I’ve been awful and I’m putting the team in terrible spots, giving up runs early and putting the [Cards’] batters in tough spots,” he told MLB.com’s John Denton. “Confidence, for sure, an all-time low. I’ve had lows and highs in this game and I’m just trying to be professional, show up every day and give it my best. The team deserves better and I’m trying to pick it up.”
Maybe a change of scenery will benefit both Fedde and the Braves.
Despite the addition of Fedde, the Braves are expected to take on a seller’s role going into Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. The two players most prominently named amid the rumor mill are Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias.