Everyone is talking about Tarik Skubal. Everyone is talking about Mason Miller. Reid Detmers might quietly be the best pitcher on the trade market.
The Los Angeles Angels left-hander has been arguably the hottest starting pitcher in baseball over the last two months, and contending teams are lining up. Detmers has posted a 2.42 ERA over his last seven starts. He has struck out over a batter per inning in that stretch. He has completely reinvented himself.
Here is why Detmers is so interesting from a trade perspective.
He is 26 years old. He is controllable through 2028 via arbitration. He is left-handed. His stuff has been playing up all year. And the Angels, sitting 12 games out of a playoff spot, are almost certain to sell at the August 3 deadline.
Compare that to Skubal, who is a pure rental with elbow concerns. Detmers has none of the injury baggage. And the two additional years of control make him almost as valuable, if not more valuable, than the two-time Cy Young winner.
Contending teams have taken notice. The Braves, Cubs, Blue Jays, Rangers, and Astros have all been in on Detmers, according to various reports. That is a competitive market.
The Angels are in a weird spot. Owner Arte Moreno historically has not liked being a trade deadline seller. He hates the optics. He would rather hold veterans and pretend the team is still in the mix. That has burned the Angels multiple times over the last decade.
General manager Perry Minasian has been more willing to sell than his boss lets on publicly. Selling Detmers now, at peak value, would replenish the farm system in a big way. The Angels rank in the bottom third of most farm system rankings. They need help.
The return for Detmers would be substantial. We are talking about at least two top-100 prospects, probably three, and possibly a major-league piece. That is the ballpark for a controllable left-handed starter with his stuff.
The Cubs are the team to watch. Chicago has money, prospects, and desperation. They are all in this year. They need pitching help beyond Justin Steele. Skubal and Detmers would both be in play. Getting both would be extremely aggressive but not impossible.
The Braves are similar. Atlanta needs pitching depth. Their bullpen has been reworked but the rotation is still a question mark. Adding Detmers would give them a legitimate ace-level option for the stretch run and the years to follow.
Toronto is interesting. The Blue Jays have been buying at the deadline for years without breaking through. They keep adding rental pieces and keep losing in the playoffs. Detmers would give them a controllable starter to build around, not just another rental to add to the pile.
Detmers himself has completely earned this attention. Two years ago, he looked like a bust. He had a 4.99 ERA in 2023. He was struggling to find any consistent form. There was talk about moving him to the bullpen.
He worked with the Angels pitching staff over the offseason on his mechanics and pitch mix. The results have been incredible. His fastball plays better. His curveball is a legitimate out pitch. He has added a cutter that has become his best pitch.
Now he is the best pitcher nobody outside of the industry is talking about. Somebody is going to acquire him. And that team is going to have one of the best young pitchers in baseball for the next two and a half years.
The Angels have to sell now. Every day they wait costs them leverage. And Reid Detmers is the biggest domino in their organization.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
