3 starting pitchers that Brewers can pivot to after Erick Fedde goes to Cardinals

Erick Fedde has been traded to the Cardinals today in a three-team trade that included the Los Angeles Dodgers. This deal was a big one that included a ton of players, here are the full details of the trade: White Sox acquired infielders Miguel Vargas, Jeral Perez, and Alexander Albertus (Dodgers No. 26th prospect, according to Fangraphs), Dodgers acquired Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech, Cardinals acquired Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham.

This leaves the Brewers having to look elsewhere in the starting pitching market as the smoke was there for a while with Fedde potentially being dealt to the Crew. The trade does help other teams including Milwaukee as they get to see what trade package it would take to acquire a starting pitcher. Although the return for Fedde is weak compared to what people expected. The White Sox not acquiring better prospects is quite shocking.

With Fedde off the board, here are three starting pitchers they should target before the trade deadline.

1. Cal Quantrill, Colorado Rockies

It looks like Quantrill and the Rockies will not come to an agreement on a contract extension, leaving Colorado with a decision on whether to trade him or not. Now might be the best time for Colorado to get a good return since he has another year of control until he hits the free-agent market.

Quantrill has been solid on the mound this season posting a 4.09 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, and 1.0 WAR. He won't strike a ton of hitters out but he sure will force a lot of groundballs, with a great infield defense in Milwaukee he would be just fine. Quantrill relies on 5 pitches which are a sinker (thrown 39.5% of the time), split-finger (thrown 33.7% of the time), cutter (thrown 13.5% of the time), curveball (thrown 10.9% of the time), a changeup that he rarely throws at 2.4%. His sinker has not been great this year as it has a negative run value of -9, hitters have a .331 AVG against it as well.

Quantrill's split-finger has been his most dominant pitch this season, having a run value of 9 and keeping opposing teams weak against it as they're only hitting .178 when it's thrown.

2. Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are viewed to be sellers but they could easily stay put as some of the names rumored to be traded are under contract after this season. One of those names is starting pitcher Chris Bassitt who is signed through the 2025 season making $22 million. Bassitt had a rough start to the season but has settled in as he now has a 3.78 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.58 WHIP, and 2.0 WAR.

The Brewers may be hesitant to acquire Bassitt due to his 2025 price tag but this would add a veteran starter that has a small sample of postseason experience. In his three games pitched in the playoffs, he has a 4.20 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and .327 BABIP. Bassitt has a plethora of pitches that he's used this season but mainly throws a sinker (thrown 41% of the time), cutter (thrown 20% of the time), and curveball (thrown 14% of the time). He has also thrown a sweeper, slider, 4-seam fastball, changeup, and split-finger but all of them have been used less than 8% of the time.

3. Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers

Jack Flaherty was scratched from his start today to protect him just in case he does get traded, meaning it is very likely he will be dealt. Flaherty signed a 1-year, $14 million deal with the Tigers this offseason so this would be a rental acquisition for the Brewers. He's also only 28 years old so he has a very high ceiling, especially with how he's been pitching this season.

Flaherty is having his best season since 2019 with the Cardinals, in 106.2 innings pitched he has a 2.95 ERA along with a 3.10 FIP, 133 strikeouts, and only 19 walks. As of today, his K/9 (11.27) is 7th in the MLB and his BB/9 (1.60) is also 11th in all of baseball. Even though he will be a free agent this season, the Brewers would have a small advantage of possibly bringing Flaherty back assuming he enjoys his time here.

Flaherty has utilized three main pitches this season which are a 4-seam fastball (thrown 44% of the time), a slider (thrown 31% of the time), and a knuckle curve (thrown 19% of the time). All of his pitches have been dominant but both of his secondary pitches have produced the best numbers, a combined 1.85 AVG from opposing hitters.

Fedde was a constantly rumored target and now the Brewers will have to pivot elsewhere to get the pitching reinforcements they need.