Cubs Trade Package For Failed Reid Detmers Deal Revealed

The Chicago Cubs believed they had a deal in place for starting pitcher Reid Detmers at the trade deadline. 

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation reported that the deal was done, and that Detmers was headed to Chicago in a blockbuster deal. That was a big move that would help the Cubs now and in the future. 

Well, that was until the deal eventually fell through. 

At that time, there was no reasoning as to why that Detmers deal fell through. Both teams just continued to work the phones and eventually made a smaller move that involved Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire for Ryan Zeferjahn. 

Months later, we finally know the full extent of the deal that never was. Phil of The Cub Reporter reported that the Cubs were set to send four players in exchange for Detmers and Zeferjahn, but a failed physical ruined everything. 

Phil heard from his sources that the potential trade package for those two Angels pitcher was Jefferson Rojas, Jaxon Wiggins, Ballesteros, and McGwire. The Cubs were all on board with this trade, even after looking at Detmers’ physicals. 

However, the Angels reportedly rejected Wiggins’ physicals, causing the deal not to go through. The two teams eventually reworked the deal to exclude Wiggins, Rojas, and Detmers and make that smaller trade involving Zeferjahn. 

Now this is just what Phil is hearing from his sources about the failed deal. There’s no way of knowing whether this is actually true or what actually went down. However, it makes a lot of sense why this deal never went through and why Rojas was then shipped off in another deal. 

That failed Detmers deal forced the Cubs to pivot. The front office eventually agreed to send Rojas to the New York Mets in exchange for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, a move that could be seen as a panic move after the team failed to land Detmers. 

The Cubs traded away their top prospect in exchange for two rentals in Holmes and Taylor. The front office desperately wanted to acquire another starting pitcher before the end of the deadline, which resulted in them potentially overpaying. 

It’s interesting how the trade deadline played out for the Cubs. If the failed Detmers trade goes through, the Holmes trade never happens. The North Siders would then have a controllable starting pitcher for the next few years instead of a pitcher who is now set to hit free agency. 

This all seems to be because of Wiggins failing his physical.