The St. Louis Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and Milwaukee, the team they are chasing in the NL Central, acquired starter Frankie Montas among a flurry of trades Monday by playoff hopeful teams.
Kansas City got veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen on the day before the MLB trade deadline, and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers picked up hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopeck in the three-team deal that sent right-hander Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the lowly White Sox to the Cardinals.
Chicago dealt Kopech to the Dodgers, who got utilityman Tommy Edman and a pitching prospect from the Cardinals. Los Angeles sent three infield prospects to the White Sox.
The Dodgers later reacquired utilityman 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.
Montas, the righty who was 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts for Cincinnati, is going to the Brewers in a rare trade between division rivals.
Reigning World Series champion Texas (52-55), which is in third place in the AL West, traded Lorenzen to the Royals for a minor league lefty reliever.
NL wild-card leader Atlanta got back two players who were part of their 2021 World Series title, making a deal with San Francisco for outfielder Jorge Soler and right-handed reliever Luke Jackson.
Soler was the 2021 World Series MVP after three homers in that six-game series against Houston, and Jackson had three scoreless appearances. Left-hander Tyler Matzek and a minor league infielder went from Atlanta to the Giants.
Houston and Seattle, in a tight race for the AL West lead, both made trades with Toronto.
The Mariners made their third significant move ahead of the deadline by getting veteran Justin Turner from the Blue Jays for a minor league outfielder. Seattle added Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia in a pair of trades last week.
The Astros later got left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-9, 4.75 ERA in 22 starts) from Toronto for 23-year-old right-hander Jake Bloss, rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido and minor league first baseman Will Wagner.
AL Central leader Cleveland added experienced outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington for a minor league left-hander and two infielders.
The 31-year-old 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).
