In Chris Getz’s second off-season move, per Jeff Passan, the White Sox have agreed to terms with right handed pitcher Eric Fedde. It was rumored that the White Sox were in on him, in competition with the New York Mets for his services.
It appears that the White Sox were successful in this battle, as they have agreed to terms on a two year, 15 million dollar contract. This gives him a decent amount of money for what will likely be a back of the rotation/inning eater role.
Fedde was a top prospect of the Nationals back in 2017, continuing the White Sox trend of picking up pitchers that were successful prospects around that time. Unfortunately, his MLB career did not go the way he wanted it, as he has a 5.41 ERA in 120 games in the major leagues.
Fedde last pitched in the MLB in 2022, where he went 6-13 over 27 games started, pitching to a 5.81 ERA. This underwhelming season led him to sign with the Korean Baseball Organization NC Dino’s.
There, he seemed to figure something out, as it has been rumored that he changed the grips on some of his pitches and was able to develop something along the lines of a slider. This is a pitch that he did not have when he was in the MLB, and it was one of his more effective pitches in Korea. This change along with a variation in his approach of what pitches to throw, lead to a very successful 2023 in Korea.
While the competition is not at the same level as it is in the MLB, he still put up some very good numbers. In 180 innings, Fedde had a 2.00 ERA with a very impressive .95 WHIP. These are the kind of numbers you want to see if you are going to bring a guy back from overseas. He had an insane 200 to 35 strikeout to walks ratio, which is something the White Sox have very much needed out of their rotation.
These impressive stats won him the Korean Baseball Organization’s MVP award, as well as the Choi Dong-won award, which is the equivalent of the Cy Young Award. This was a very impressive season and he was put on the radar for many different teams. Among the interest from Chicago White Sox and the Mets, he was gaining interest to move over to the Nippon Professional Baseball League, the professional league in Japan.
At this point in his career, Fedde is hoping for a MLB revival. He is 30, so he is relatively young. If he plays well on this contract, he could finish out the rest of his career in the MLB. This is a good low-risk, high-reward singing for the Sox, as they need someone to eat innings in the back of the rotation while the younger pitchers develop. If he can show that the KBO season was no fluke and he is a completely different pitcher, this could be a huge signing for the Sox, and he could be flipped for prospects at the deadline.
Choi-dong!