St. Louis Cardinals allowed Angels to make easy move that fans will hate immediately

The Angels are still operating with a four-man starting rotation, with their four true starters all beginning the second half of the season pretty so-so. Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano have each made two starts apiece post All-Star break, and have a combined 5.28 FIP, 1.32 WHIP and 1.99 HR/9. Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks are expectedly regressing, with both getting shelled by the Mets in their last starts, and they might even get traded due to their expiring contracts. Whether the Angels position themselves as buyers or sellers at the trade deadline in a few days, they will address their rotation in one way or another.

The Angels could splurge and hypothetically acquire an Edward Cabrera or Sandy Alcántara from the Miami Marlins, or they could simply claim a recently waived pitcher for minimal spending. The organization has a cheap owner, the worst farm system in baseball and horrific odds to make the playoffs, so they will likely go the latter route. Luckily enough, the St. Louis Cardinals just made a bad starter available for the team to claim they added without actually doing anything substantial!

St. Louis Cardinals allowed Angels to make easy move that fans will hate immediately

The St. Louis Cardinals axed Fedde after 20 starts this season, probably because their fans routinely mocked him online due to how horrific they were. The Angels, like every other team in baseball, will not claim him off waivers as that means they would have to pay his remaining $2.7 million. However, a minimum MLB contract looks increasingly likely between the two sides due to the Angels' vacancy in their rotation.

Here's the thing about Erick Fedde -- he's bad, but he was essentially doing exactly what Jack Kochanowicz did every fifth day before his demotion. Fedde is at an all-time low in his career, yet he had a lower ERA and ERA+ than Kochanowicz despite throwing 7.2 more innings this season. If the former Cardinals' starter signs with the Angels and does rebound in some way for them, it would still be a massive step up for the team. You could make the case that Fedde would be the team's No. 3 starter. Yikes.

Fans desperately want a playoff push from their favorite team, even though every sign points to yet another early offseason. Clutch moments and walk-off hits galore inspire hope and emotionality throughout Angels Nation, but the front office will look to offload assets while also collecting some low-risk moves before July's end. Signing Fedde after his Cardinals DFA instead of trading for a Cabrera or Alcántara is the type of move a team in purgatory does, so do not be surprised if the Angels do wind up doing it.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout