The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers rarely do business, but if the Dodgers can't land Tarik Skubal, Reid Detmers could be headed across town.
The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers rarely do business together, but in the case the Dodgers can’t land Detroit Tigers ace left-hander and back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, a deal for a different lefty could materialize.
The Angels have two of the most coveted trade chips in Major League Baseball with the trade deadline right around the corner, and with starting pitchers being in high demand, Los Angeles is a team that many are keeping their eyes on.
Right-hander José Soriano and lefty Reid Detmers have multiple years of club control after 2026 and have shown elite stuff this season, making them great but expensive options on the trade market for contenders.
Based on reports, it seems like Detmers’ name has been floating around more in trade rumors and his reputation as a southpaw who generates a lot of swing and miss makes him an appealing target.
With starting pitching being such a premium, the cost to acquire a young starter with years of control will be a lot, but if any team can pay it, it’s the Dodgers.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield made 10 trade deadline predictions and predicted that the Dodgers will land Detmers, pending Skubal doesn’t end up in an LA uniform.
“Detmers won't be easy to pry away from the Angels since he's under team control for two more years, and the Dodgers and Angels haven't made a significant trade since Andrew Heaney was traded for Howie Kendrick in 2014, but the Dodgers have the prospects the Angels need,” Schoenfield wrote Friday.
“The Angels need to put aside their cross-city envy and make the best deal for the organization.”
This would be a good pairing for both sides – the Dodgers have multiple top 100 prospects and arguably the strongest farm system in MLB, while the Angels have exactly what the Dodgers need in a starter that could start a playoff game.
Obviously, Skubal is the big target for playoff contenders, but Detmers isn’t a slouch. While he is 3-7 with a 4.03 ERA, he has a solid 1.10 WHIP and is one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball.
To go along with his team-leading 145 strikeouts (ninth in MLB), Detmers has career-highs in opponent batting average (.214), on-base percentage (.276), slugging percentage (.364), OPS (.640) and walk rate (7.4 percent).
It’s hard to think of him as a consolation prize, but he could be for a Dodgers team hungry to three-peat as World Series champions.
