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.
In Other News...
Orioles Already Flipped Kyle Nicolas Again For Something Else
The Nationals made a small but notable move in adding reliever Kyle Nicolas, then promptly sent him to Triple-A Rochester while clearing a 40-man spot by moving Mitchell Parker to the 60-day injured list. It was the kind of roster shuffle that comes with July business, but it also put Washington in position to take a closer look at a power arm whose big-league track record has been uneven and whose control has long been part of the conversation.
There is also a bit of franchise history tucked into the transaction. The deal with Baltimore was the first trade between the clubs since the Nationals moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005, a reminder that even neighboring teams can go years without matching up in the transaction market. For Washington, the bigger question now is whether Nicolas can turn the raw stuff that keeps him interesting into something more reliable once he settles in with Rochester. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals May Have An Unusual Bullpen Option Fans Didn't See Coming
Erick Mejia has taken one of the more unusual paths in the Nationals system, going from an outfielder to a pitcher and steadily working his way through the minors. In 2025, he put together a 4.59 ERA across three levels, then opened this season with a 1.50 ERA in Double-A before earning a move to Triple-A, where the early returns have been encouraging.
For Washington, the appeal goes beyond the backstory. Mejias metrics have drawn attention, and the organization has reason to keep watching closely as it looks for help on the mound. If the bullpen continues to wobble, his name could move from curiosity to real possibility sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]