With Gerrit Cole undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery today, the Yankees will be without their ace for the entirety of the 2025 season. To compensate for this massive loss, they will need to strengthen their rotation, either through trades or free-agent acquisitions, as they have already lost both the 2023 AL Cy Young winner and the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year for three months within just two weeks.
One potential target could be Erick Fedde, a right-handed pitcher the Yankees might look to add from the trade market. The St. Louis Cardinals, who have reportedly been open to trading Fedde this offseason, could be willing to move him to enhance their farm system. With New York desperate for pitching depth, Fedde could help stabilize their rotation with his revamped pitching arsenal.
Why Erick Fedde Makes Sense for the Yankees
Fedde’s strong 3.30 ERA last season after returning from the KBO stands out, thanks in large part to a new sweeping slider he developed. While the pitch doesn’t generate many strikeouts, it helps him limit hard contact and keep hitters off balance with excellent command. Fedde doesn’t rely on overpowering velocity or extraordinary movement, but his pinpoint control and pitch sequencing make him effective against both right- and left-handed hitters.
Against righties, he threw his sinker-sweeper combination 74.3% of the time, holding them to a .221 batting average and a .256 wOBA. This is because those pitches work exceptionally well against right-handed batters.
On the other hand, against left-handed hitters, he shifts gears, dialing back the sinker-sweeper combo and using a cutter-changeup combination 71% of the time, while still occasionally mixing in a sinker. His approach focuses on getting weak contact and occasionally striking out hitters by moving the ball up and down in the zone.
Fedde’s command-first style could be a great fit for the Yankees, as it doesn’t rely on raw power or excessive strikeouts. However, such a strategy can be risky if a pitcher’s command falters or if they miss with their pitches in the zone.
In contrast to Marcus Stroman’s struggles with velocity decline last season, Fedde’s spring training performance has shown no signs of a drop-off, which is promising. With better pitching staff support and a stronger catching setup, the Yankees could help Fedde take his game to the next level and become a key contributor to their rotation.
Leave a Reply