Cardinals add starter in a 3-team, 7-player trade

The St. Louis Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and the Kansas City Royals acquired veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen as playoff contenders made deals Monday, the day before MLB's trade deadline. Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham went from the lowly White Sox to the Cardinals as part of a three-team deal involving seven players. Chicago also sent hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the NL West-leading Dodgers. Los Angeles also acquired utilityman Tommy Edman from the Cardinals, and the Dodgers sent infield prospects Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez to Chicago. Reigning World Series champion Texas, which went into Monday four games under .500 and in third place in the AL West, traded Lorenzen to the Royals for minor league left-handed reliever Walter Pennington. Seattle made its third significant move ahead of the deadline acquiring veteran Justin Turner from Toronto in exchange for minor league outfielder RJ Schreck. Fedde should provide a boost for the Cards' rotation as they try to rally into a playoff spot after they missed the postseason last year. 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. He was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft and is 28-37 with a 4.92 ERA in 123 big league games (109 starts). Lorenzen went 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers after signing late in spring training and making his season debut April 15. In his final start for Texas on Saturday, Lorenzen allowed four runs and five hits while recording only two outs at Toronto. He then pitched again Sunday, and gave up one run over four innings in relief. Kansas City went into Monday in the American League's third wild card spot, one game ahead Boston. The Cardinals were one game behind the New York Mets for the NL's third wild card. The 32-year-old Lorenzen was a first-time All-Star last season with Detroit, and threw a no-hitter for Philadelphia after being traded. He signed a $4.5 million, one-year contract with Texas on March 23. Primarily a starter the past three seasons, Lorenzen is 45-44 with a 4.08 ERA over 361 career games (87 starts) with Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Texas, the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit. Kansas City had two relievers exit Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs after getting hurt. Right-hander John Schreiber tweaked his knee when covering first base and right-hander Hunter Harvey, who they got in a trade with Washington two weeks ago, later left with a back spasm. The Cincinnati Reds picked up veteran first baseman Ty France and cash from Seattle in exchange for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo. The 30-year-old France, a 2022 AL All-Star, was designated for assignment last week by the Mariners after hitting .223 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 88 games. Turner is expected for now to get the bulk of playing time at first base for Seattle, but can also play third base and was the designated hitter for 71 of the 89 games he appeared in for Toronto. The 39-year-old is hitting .254 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 89 games this season for the Blue Jays, but since June 1 has batted .301 with an .800 OPS. "This guy's been around a long time, has gone through a lot in his career and he's been on winning teams, he's been on a lot of winning teams. Knows certain ways winning teams go about things," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. "I just think no matter what he can do on the field, I think he has plenty to give there, hopefully he can give in other areas as well in helping out some of our young guys." Seattle added Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia in a pair of trades last week. Turner started at first base in the opener of a doubleheader against Baltimore on Monday and singled in the first inning before being removed from the game in the bottom of the second. Boston acquired right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke in an exchange of former first-round draft picks. The Red Sox then optioned Priester (2-6, 5.04 ERA) to Triple-A Worcester. ___ AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB