The Angels may have played the Reid Detmers situation exactly right.
At the trade deadline, Los Angeles had real interest on the table and still chose to keep him. That wasn’t a sign of hesitation so much as a line in the sand.
The club had already moved Jose Soriano and landed Arjun Nimmala, a consensus top-50 prospect, plus more, so when it came to Detmers, the asking price was going to be higher. The Cubs’ reported offer didn’t get there.
That matters because Detmers was drawing attention from at least four teams, and there was a reason he was viewed as one of the most appealing trade pieces on the market. With two more years of team control, the Angels didn’t have to move him for anything less than a strong return. Soriano’s value helped set the bar, and Detmers wasn’t going to be sold short.
The first start after the deadline made the decision look shaky. He allowed three runs on four hits and was out after four innings, which invited all the usual second-guessing.
Maybe the rumors had him off his game. Maybe it was just a bad night.
Either way, it wasn’t a great look.
Since then, though, Detmers has done exactly what the Angels were hoping to see.
Five days after that rough outing against the Orioles, he held the Rangers to one run on three hits over six innings. Then, five days later, he turned in his best work yet, blanking the Royals until they could scratch out just two hits over eight innings.
He struck out 11, didn’t issue a walk, and needed only 92 pitches. It was his first home win in his last 22 starts, and it came with authority.
That’s the key here: this isn’t some tiny hot streak bolted onto an ordinary season. Detmers has been good for a while.
Since the break, he owns a 1.83 ERA in six starts across 34.1 innings. He’s been missing bats and going deeper into games, and that’s exactly the kind of profile that makes front offices sit up.
The Angels also made it clear they were willing to deal other pieces. Logan O’Hoppe, Soriano, Chase Silseth, Jo Adell, and Ryan Zeferjahn all changed hands. That’s why their refusal to move Detmers says so much about how they see him.
There’s a case for keeping him, and there’s a case for cashing in while his value is climbing. For a rebuilding club, a 27-year-old left-hander who’s becoming one of the better strikeout arms in the league is a tricky asset to sort out.
If Detmers keeps pitching like this, the return this winter could easily top what the Cubs put forward. Chicago wasn’t the only team involved, either.
The White Sox, Rays, and Brewers were all in the mix before the deadline.
Of course, waiting comes with a cost. A team that traded for Detmers in July would have gotten this year’s pennant race plus two more seasons.
That’s three chances to use him. Any team trading for him now gets two pennant races instead.
Deadline deals usually bring out the highest prices because clubs are chasing October right then and there. The offseason can be a cooler market, and that could work against the Angels.
Still, if Detmers keeps doing what he’s doing, the Angels will have every reason to feel good about holding firm. He’s already reminding everyone what it’ll take to pry him away.
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The Angels have already pushed Alvarez up to High A, which is notable for a player this young and still so early in his professional career. For now, the bigger picture is development rather than arrival, and the club is looking at a long runway with a major league debut not expected before 2029. Still, for an organization always searching for impact talent, Alvarezs rise gives the farm system a name worth tracking closely. [Read more 🡒]