Erick Fedde is enjoying his breakthrough season, not thinking of potential trade from White Sox

(670 The Score) At the end of the 2022 regular season, veteran right-hander Erick Fedde could read the writing on the wall. He was no longer going to be pitching for the Nationals and understood his career in the big leagues might be over.

Fedde had posted a 5.81 ERA in 2022 and had a career 5.41 ERA over six seasons with Washington. So he elected to sign with the NC Dinos in Korea’s KBO league with the hope of reviving his career. Sure enough, after an impressive 2023 season in Korea, Fedde received a second chance in MLB as the White Sox signed him to a two-year deal in December.

Fedde, 31, is 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA over 13 starts with the White Sox this season. He went from being cast aside in the big leagues to a likely trade chip in high demand for contending teams this summer.

“It’s definitely strange,” Fedde told the Bernstein & Holmes Show on Friday. “When you send yourself off to Korea, you don’t know if that’s like your last goodbye of the big leagues – ‘Maybe I’ve thrown my last pitch.’ But to make it back was a huge deal. I mean, to have success, it’s just the payoff of hard work. It makes me happy. It makes me feel a little more accomplished. I know when I left, I was frustrated with the way my career went. But I had my second chance, and now I’m just trying to make the most of it. You best believe I’m not going to miss any opportunity I can to improve on it.

“I try not to think about (being traded). I know it’s like the cliché answer. But the reality is it’s that same mentality of I got five days to worry about my next start. If I have a couple bad ones, that trade talk goes right away. So, I need to focus on making my start, making my pitches and trying to win ballgames for the White Sox.

“If they choose to move on from me or trade me, that’s one thing. But right now, I have another year on my deal. I'm very happy here, I like the guys, I like the coaching staff, and I’m ready to pitch for them as long as they’ll have me.”

The White Sox host the Red Sox on Friday in the second game of their four-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.