KBO MVP headed to the South Side
The Winter Meetings are in full swing in Nashville, and new GM Chris Getz has made it clear that starting pitching is a top priority for the club this offseason. As such, the White Sox signed righthander Erick Fedde to a two-year, $15 million deal in effort to stock a woefully incomplete starting rotation.
After trading Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Michael Soroka just a couple of weeks ago, this is the second move Getz has made to repair his broken rotation — an assignment made ever more urgent with Dylan Cease potentially on the move, as rumors and interests pipe up from around the league.
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
Fedde spent six years with the Washington Nationals organization, where he posted an underwhelming 5.41 ERA spanning 102 games. After moving in and out of the majors, he eventually landed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), where he won the Choi-Dong Award in 2023 — the KBO’s version of the Cy Young.
After brandishing an impressive 2.00 ERA across 180 1⁄3 innings, Fedde finished the season with a 0.954 WHIP, 20-6 record (obviously the most important stat to judge a pitcher in 2023!), and 209 strikeouts — 45 more than the next best pitcher in the league.
Many fans will likely not be impressed by the signing, but time at the Winter Meetings to see what moves are in store for the South Siders, as the rumor mills swirl. While it may be a bit of an experiment, newfound success in the KBO could establish some more confidence in Fedde to be a serviceable back-end of the rotation pitcher for a White Sox team that is clearly in a rebuild without calling it one.