The Detroit Tigers have played like one of the best teams in baseball for the majority of the season, and have a 60-43 record to show for it. However, they are just 1-8 in their last nine games and have seen their American League Central lead dip to 8.5 games. And of course, any team in Major League Baseball would love to enjoy an 8.5 game lead in any division at any time, but it seems their offense is in a bit of a lull, and the starting pitching has not been as good as it was through the first four months of the season.
With eight days left until the trade deadline, Detroit should certainly think about adding to their roster, especially their pitching staff, if they want to continue to be thought of as a World Series contender.
Tigers Should Call the Angels on Reid Detmers
The Detroit Tigers have the best starter in baseball at the top of their rotation in Tarik Skubal, who is certainly the favorite to win his second consecutive Cy Young award. But one starter isn’t going to win you a World Series, and after Casey Mize, the rotation thins out after that, which includes Jack Flaherty, who has had a bad season thus far.
Detroit should make a necessary call on the Los Angeles Angels’ reliever Reid Detmers, who has been rumored to be on the trade market. Detmers has embraced his new role, as he’s been moved to the bullpen this season and has 42 appearances on the season. However, Detmers has started for the bulk of his career. He wasn’t effective as a starter last season, so the Tigers would have to decide how they want to use him, but in 45 innings this season, Detmers has a 4.17 ERA and 55 strikeouts.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan isn’t exactly sure what the Angels are going to do at the trade deadline, but he did name Detmers as the team’s “best asset”, which bodes well for teams like the Tigers who are looking for pitchers in any capacity.
The Angels are four games below .500 at 49-53, so selling in some capacity seems likely. They have a strong young core of position players and one of the best players in baseball, Mike Trout, if he’s healthy. It’s been reported that they could also be in the market for Sandy Alcantara, but it’s unclear if anyone really wants Alcantara with his ERA above 7.00.
What Would Detroit Have to Give Up?
Well, Passan noted that the Los Angeles Angels are in search of young pitchers who can be developed in their system. A good return deal for Los Angeles could be Sawyer Gibson-Long, who has seen some big-league innings this season, or top pitching prospect Jaden Hamm. Detmers has a few arbitration years coming up and isn’t set to be a free agent until 2028, but is a relatively cheap arm at $1.83 million.
With the Detroit Tigers in a little rough patch at the moment, look for Detroit to make some soft moves for an arm or two as they prepare for the final two months of the regular season and into October.
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