Well, there you have it! The White Sox have officially made their first notable signing of the offseason and it comes in the form of starting pitcher Erick Fedde, who has a fascinating career path. They agreed to a two-year deal with Fedde and he will instantly become a key piece of a depleted rotation.
Right-hander Erick Fedde and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $15 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Fedde, 30, went 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA for the NC Dinos in the KBO, where he was named MVP this year.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 5, 2023
The 30-year-old right-hander was a first-round pick of the Nationals back in 2014 with high expectations despite being in the early stages of Tommy John recovery when he was drafted. After working his way back from surgery, Fedde moved through the Washington system with ease and made his MLB debut in 2017 just three years after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and being drafted that same year.
After a brief taste of the league that year, Fedde bounced between the rotation, bullpen, and Triple-A from 2018 to 2020 before becoming a full-time piece of the rotation during the roster retool in Washington in 2021. Across two full seasons in the Nationals rotation, he pitched to a 5.64 ERA across 54 starts (56 appearances) and was frankly one of the worst starters in MLB at the time.
After seeing his career trend in the wrong direction every season with Washington, Fedde headed to the Korean Baseball Organization for the 2023 season, where he signed a deal with NC Dinos. After adjusting his pitch mix and refining his mechanics while pitching in Korea, he won the equivalent of the MVP and Cy Young awards in the KBO after throwing 180.1 innings with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts.
Fedde was extremely impressive, especially with the addition of a sweeper which was particularly dominant in his time spent with the Dinos. After struggling with command during his time in MLB, Fedde walked under 5% of hitters he faced in Korea while striking out just below 30% on the year.
In addition to adding a pure sweeper with more horizontal movement as opposed to his former slider, Fedde adjusted the movement profile on his change-up as well as noted by new White Sox Senior Pitching Advisor Brian Bannister.
1. Fedde works out at the same facility as Logan Webb in the offseason.
— Brian Bannister (@RealBanny) December 6, 2023
2. He added the same sweeper + split- change to his arsenal as Webb. He did not use these pitches in Washington.
3. Ethan Katz & I were both with Webb when these adjustments were made. https://t.co/DuotEp9zkn
These changes made by Fedde over the past year are clearly part of the reason that the White Sox were engaged from the start in the market for the veteran pitcher. With the position that the White Sox are currently in, adding pitchers with upside that can work directly with Bannister and pitching coach Ethan Katz is the optimal route. Transitioning to MLB from the KBO can represent a challenge for many pitchers, but Fedde has recent experience stateside and brings with him new pitches to utilize.
In this era of baseball, the adjustments made to pitch usage and shape are more critically analyzed than ever before which is something the White Sox have not done previously. This new group of leaders within the organization, specifically on the pitching, led by Bannister are going to focus on exerting all possible value out of their arms.
With the team far from competing this current year, the route the organization is going with the pitching feels very appropriate. With someone like Fedde, there’s a chance that he will carry over his success from Korea and become a valuable asset that could be either traded or extended. The worst-case scenario is that the team ultimately cuts ties with him if it doesn’t work out.
These are the types of moves that a “retooling” team should make this winter. Chris Getz was not handed an easy situation whatsoever but he’s doing his best to make the most of the situation right now. Fedde is the type of addition that comes with minimal, essentially zero, long-term risk with a chance to benefit the team immediately.
Dylan Cease is likely on the move which would make Fedde the leading candidate to start Opening Day right now. That’s a hilarious statement to even say, but it’s probably the truth given the other rotation options right now. It should be expected that the team will add at least one and probably two more starters with sneaky upside like Fedde.
This is not a move that changes the outlook in Chicago by any means but it’s worth a chance and makes plenty of sense for the organization right now.