Cardinals' latest DFA sets up Dodgers to possibly pick up asset at massive discount

The Dodgers need pitching desperately, and the Cardinals may have just presented them with a golden opportunity to save some money and/or prospects ahead of the trade deadline. On Wednesday, St. Louis DFA'ed starter Erick Fedde, who has a 9.64 ERA and five losses in his last seven starts.

Clearly, the Dodgers would be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they scooped him off of waivers or made a trade with the Cardinals for him, but as a pitcher who looked like he was going to be a trade deadline asset for St. Louis (and who the Dodgers have been vaguely connected to already) and has since fallen from grace, LA would be getting a fresh arm at a steep discount.

Beggars can't really be choosers, and the Dodgers have found themselves in the uncomfortable position of becoming beggars as the deadline nears. Tanner Scott went onto the IL on Tuesday and Ben Casparius is likely to follow, and the Dodgers have picked up guys with far worse track records than Fedde in prior moments of weakness.

At this point, it would be more surprising if the Dodgers don't show some interest in him or acquire him one way or the other in the next few days. Even if he were to continue to underperform in LA and they were to dump him right after the deadline, at least he's healthy and could eat innings.

Dodgers could pick up DFA'ed Cardinals starter Erick Fedde after new wave of pitching injuries

Fedde's downturn this season has given Cardinals fans whiplash. He had a decent 3.54 ERA after his June 7 start, but that was the last time he would pitch a scoreless outing. In his last five starts, he's given up 26 earned runs in just 17 2/3 innings, giving him a 5.22 ERA on the season. The Cardinals have sunk to an 8.5-game deficit and significantly trail the NL Central's first place Cubs and Brewers, and Fedde's losses have been a massive part of that crash.

The Dodgers are actually in a place where they're not desperate for starters, but they could easily throw Fedde into the bullpen to take over Casparius' role as a the occasional bulk reliever. If all it would take would be an unranked prospect and some cash, it'd be a no-brainer for the Dodgers.

Fans should still be hopeful for an eventful trade deadline that will bring in more effective guys than Fedde, but he'd be an acceptable bridge until then.