The trade deadline is still more than six weeks away, but pitching-hungry clubs have already been checking in with Angels GM Perry Minasian about the potential availability of breakout lefty Reid Detmers, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There’s no indication there have been any serious talks. To the contrary, Nightengale suggests that the Angels may be more inclined to hang onto the 26-year-old southpaw.
It’s a familiar refrain for Angels fans. Detmers is controlled only for two more seasons beyond the current campaign. The Angels, tied with the Royals for the American League’s worst record and sporting one of MLB’s weakest farm systems, aren’t going to be competitive in that time.
One could easily argue that Detmers ought to be an extension candidate. There’d be good sense in that for the Halos, but it doesn’t seem likely. The last time the Angels signed any player to an extension was more than four years ago, when catcher Max Stassi signed for three years and $17.5MM. A look at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that since the hiring of GM Perry Minasian in Nov. 2020, Stassi and utilityman David Fletcher (five years, $26MM in 2021) are the only two players who have signed extensions buying out would-be free agent years.
Detmers, the No. 10 overall draft pick back in 2020, moved back to the rotation after a year spent in the bullpen in 2025. He’s out to an excellent start, sporting a 3.68 ERA through 88 innings across his first 15 turns back in the Angels’ rotation. His underlying rate stats are even better. Detmers has fanned 28.2% of opponents against a 6.8% walk rate. He’s touting better-than-average chase, contact and swinging-strike rates.
A significant amount of the damage against Detmers this season came in one lone start: an eight-run drubbing at the hands of the A’s back on May 19. Detmers responded to that outing by bouncing back with eight innings of one-run ball and a career-high 14 strikeouts. He hasn’t slowed down. In five starts since that Athletics hiccup, Detmers has pitched 33 innings, allowed five runs (1.36 ERA) on 12 hits and five walks. He’s set down 33.9% of his opponents on strikes in that span and only walked 4.3% of the batters he’s faced. Metrics like SIERA (3.33), FIP (2.81) and xERA (2.76) feel Detmers has performed far better than his already-solid earned run average might suggest.
Given his prospect pedigree, age, remaining club control and upward trendlines, Detmers would be one of the most sought-after trade pieces on the entire market. Any team acquiring him would be adding the southpaw for potentially three playoff races. He’s being paid just $2.625MM this season and will likely cost less than $20MM for his remaining two seasons of club control. He’d fit into any club’s playoff rotation, and organizations with a better track record of pitcher development might feel there’s another gear to be unlocked.
Trades of starters with two-plus seasons of left are rare at any point but especially midseason. The Marlins added four prospects from the Yankees in the trade sending Ryan Weathers to the Bronx and added a three-player package (headlined by consensus top-100 prospect Owen Caissie) when they traded Edward Cabrera to the Cubs. Both players had three full seasons of club control remaining, though Detmers is arguably more accomplished and more desirable than both former Fish hurlers. The White Sox picked up a pair of top-100 prospects (Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery) plus a nearly MLB-ready infielder (Chase Meidroth) when trading two seasons of Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox.
Detmers is just one of several potential high-end trade chips the Angels possess. He, Jose Soriano and Zach Neto, in particular, could net the sort of trade deadline haul that would completely overhaul an Angels farm system that entered the year ranked 27th of 30 per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, 28th at Baseball America and at MLB.com, and 29th via The Athletic’s Keith Law.
As I recently explored in a piece for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, however, the Angels have repeatedly refused to acknowledge their bleak long-term outlook and held onto just this set of marketable asset until they either reached free agency or completely eroded their trade value. Only time will tell whether barreling toward a fifth straight season of at least 89 losses — they’re on pace to lose 97 games in 2026 — will prompt a philosophical change from owner Arte Moreno.
