The Cardinals’ first-year rebuild has taken a sharp turn into something far more interesting. JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker have helped push St. Louis into legitimate postseason territory, and at 44-39, the club is sitting in a Wild Card spot despite a -10 run differential that leaves a little room for concern.
If the Cardinals are going to buy at the trade deadline, the need is obvious: starting pitching.
That’s why ESPN’s David Schoenfield has tied St. Louis to Los Angeles Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, a 3.88 ERA starter who would fit the Cardinals’ needs.
The catch is that the Cardinals aren’t alone. Schoenfield also listed the Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletics as clubs in the mix.
"St. Louis Cardinals/ Washington Nationals / Arizona Diamondbacks /Athletic: Trade for Detmers," Schoenfield writes.
"... They all need rotation help, and though they don't necessarily feel like playoff teams, they're all in the playoff chase, with the Cardinals leading the way."
Detmers makes sense for a group of teams looking beyond a short-term rental. He’s 26, left-handed, and under club control through the 2028 season, giving any acquiring team a little over two years of control. That kind of team-friendly runway matters for a Cardinals club that could use help now and still have the pitcher in place for the next couple of seasons.
Through 17 starts this year, Detmers has gone 3-5 with a 3.88 ERA, 1.6 bWAR, and 112 strikeouts in 99.2 innings. He also flashed a much sharper version of himself in June, when he posted a 2.27 ERA with a 2.89 FIP.
That stretch is exactly why he stands out as a possible fit. The Cardinals need rotation help, and Detmers has shown enough to suggest he could be more than a deadline patch.
He would help St. Louis in the push for 2026 and give the organization a starter it could lean on beyond this season.
The price tag won’t be light, especially with that extra control, and the Cardinals will have competition from Arizona, Washington and Oakland. Still, if they’re serious about adding pitching, Detmers looks like one of the clearest names on the board.
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