Potential Yankees trade target just embarrassed himself on Sunday Night Baseball

A gaping hole has opened up in the New York Yankees' once-proud rotation, and their upside plays at the trade deadline are rather limited. Following Clarke Schmidt's injury (and likely Tommy John diagnosis), two spots in the group are currently occupied by Marcus Stroman and a call-up, purported to be top prospect Cam Schlittler. Ryan Yarbrough is on the mend, and 2024 Rookie of the Year Luis Gil should both be back at some point. If the Yankees intend to hit a home run with their replacements, that'll probably come from Gil or Schlittler (or both!) channeling some electricity. There isn't much available in that department at the midseason deadline, unless Zac Gallen's value dives at the last second (and, uh, his stuff returns).

That means, if the Yankees have designs on thickening out the rotation at the trade deadline, it'll probably come after third base/bullpen yardwork on the priority list, and such a move will involve adding innings, but not necessarily upside. That's where St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde comes in.

Fedde was involved in one of the highest-profile swaps of last summer, a three-way deal that sent NLCS MVP Tommy Edman to Los Angeles and Miguel Vargas to Chicago. He posted a remarkable 4.6 bWAR and 3.11 ERA in the first half with the White Sox after returning to MLB from overseas, then was more hittable down the stretch, though still performed acceptably (3.72 in 10 starts).

This year's been a different story entirely, and it hit its nadir on Sunday night.

Potential Yankees trade deadline "solution" Erick Fedde couldn't make it past the second inning vs. Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball

As the Cardinals have surprised many of their doubters, Fedde's effectiveness has waned; if the Yankees were to go for him now, they'd be nabbing up the "innings-soaker" that Cardinals fans can't wait to get rid of.

Sunday at Wrigley represented the very worst of it, as he walked four, uncorked a wild pitch, and had the bullpen to thank for keeping more runs off his ledger in 1 1/3 troubled innings (he was only assigned three, but exited with the bases loaded).

ESPN's Eduardo Perez theorized, just before he was pulled, that the Cubs had a tell on Fedde that was making their swing decisions as simple as possible. Either every other team Fedde has faced lately has had a similar tell, or his problems run deeper than a simple bit of espionage.

If the Yankees want to add a wild card to their rotation after most of their other business is done, then fine, Fedde could make sense. But their bullpen need is blaring, and their third base vacancy has been laughable all year long. Odds are Schlittler, Yarbrough and Gil can all provide more than this embattled Cardinal can down the stretch.