The Angels are expected to be active at the trade deadline, and Reid Detmers looks like the kind of arm that could bring back a serious haul. If Los Angeles decides to move the left-hander, one team that fits the picture is the Cubs, who need starting pitching as they try to keep pace in the NL Central.
According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Angels are looking for young catchers, and Chicago prospect Owen Ayers has been floated as a possible fit. Ayers has shot through the system this season, climbing from Hi-A to Double-A and then earning a recent promotion to Triple-A. Across those three levels, he has hit .322/.433/.618 with 22 homers in 84 games.
That kind of production makes him interesting for a Los Angeles club that may be staring at a changing catching situation. Logan O'Hoppe was once viewed as a key piece of the future after the Angels acquired him from the Phillies for Brandon Marsh in a 2022 deadline deal. He showed promise in 2023, then followed with an uneven 2024 in which he hit .244/.303/.409 with 20 homers.
But the bat has stalled. O'Hoppe followed that with a .213/.258/.371 line in 2025, and he entered 2026 with plenty to prove.
This season has not helped his case. He is hitting .213/.275/.300 with four homers, and the swing-and-miss problem has only gotten worse while the power has largely vanished.
That’s why Ayers makes sense as a name to watch. Still, if the Angels are serious about moving Detmers, the Cubs would likely need to offer more than just one prospect.
Ayers is a switch-hitting 25-year-old with real upside, but he comes with some of the same concerns that have followed O'Hoppe. He is still developing defensively after not catching full-time until his final college season, and the strikeouts are part of the package too.
He has struck out 24.2% of the time this year, a rate that is worse than most of O'Hoppe’s minor league seasons.
Ayers has also been one of the more surprising breakouts in the minors. A 19th-round pick in the 2024 draft, he has turned himself into one of the more intriguing prospects in the game almost entirely on the strength of what he has done this season.
For the Angels, Ayers could be the kind of catcher who eventually replaces O'Hoppe and gives them the power bat behind the plate they’ve been searching for. But Detmers is no ordinary trade chip. He comes with two more years of team control and the kind of upside that should drive a strong return.
So while Ayers could be part of the conversation, he probably shouldn’t be the whole package. The Cubs have enough prospect depth to make a bigger deal work, and that gives both sides a path toward something that helps them.
In Other News...
Another Angels Pitching Gamble Just Reached A Frustrating End
Alek Manoahs latest stop with the Angels ended while he was at Triple-A Salt Lake, another reminder of how quickly a once-promising pitching bet can unravel. The right-hander had been given a look in the majors this season, where he made three appearances and struggled badly before sliding back into the minors as the club kept searching for answers on the mound.
For the Angels, the move leaves yet another vacancy in a rotation that has already been forced to absorb plenty of turnover. Jose Soriano, Reid Detmers, Grayson Rodriguez, Ryan Johnson and Walbert Urena are still lined up to carry the staff for the rest of 2026, with Yusei Kikuchi nearing a return and Jack Kochanowicz out for the year, so the margin for error remains thin as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Reid Detmers Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Real Angels Decision
Reid Detmers has gone from a familiar name in the Angels rotation conversation to a real deadline variable, and that alone says plenty about where things stand as the August 3 trade deadline approaches. The left-hander has popped up in insider chatter tied to the Cubs, with Chicago looking hard at pitching help and scanning a market that could still shift quickly once the final week of July gets moving.
For the Angels, the question is less about rumor for rumors sake and more about whether Detmers is the kind of arm they can afford to listen on if the right return materializes. The broader deadline picture around the Cubs only adds to the backdrop, with clubs poking around prospects, relievers and starting depth all over the map, which is how a player like Detmers ends up sitting at the center of a decision that could shape the rest of the summer. [Read more 🡒]