Today I’m starting an occasional — and probably brief — series on starting pitchers I think the Cubs should go after.
Josh already mentioned Reid Detmers, and his teammate José Soriano, in After Dark on Wednesday. I’m posting my own article on Detmers because I think he might be the best fit for this rotation. Plus, he fits the way the Cubs front office operates, as he’s not expensive and comes with two years of team control after 2026. (To be fair, so does Soriano.)
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Here’s what Josh said about the pair:
Soriano’s numbers for the year are 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA. He’s struck out 122 and walked a way-too-high 54 in 118 innings. But his ground ball tendencies would play well with the Cubs infield defense.
Detmers has been much less streaky. One the year, he’s made 20 starts and gone 3-6 with a 4.16 ERA. Over 114.2 innings, Detmers has struck out 130 and walked 35.
We heard those “ground ball tendencies” reports about David Peterson, too, and that hasn’t really been the case so far for him with the Cubs, though he did record eight ground-ball outs against the Tigers on Tuesday — after giving up four fly balls early in the game that would likely have all been home runs if the wind hadn’t been blowing in at Wrigley Field.
Detmers’ K rate and walk rate are very attractive and he’s got a good selection of pitches:
This article by Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon in The Athletic has a note about someone the Angels might be interested in dealing for from the Cubs system:
The Angels, according to a person briefed on their pursuits, are interested in acquiring a young catcher. Owen Ayers, the Cubs’ No. 10 prospect according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, might qualify. Ayers, 25, started the season in High A and is now at Triple A.
I know that many here would consider Ayers untouchable. He’s definitely the organization’s best catching prospect and could be ready for MLB in a year or so.
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But you know what, trading for Detmers could solidify the Cubs rotation for two years beyond 2026, besides helping out this year. And the Cubs could re-sign Carson Kelly for another year or two and with Miguel Amaya, they make an excellent catching tandem.
If that’s the deal — Ayers for Detmers — I’d do it.
How about you?
I’ll have another trade target article tomorrow.
Read the full article here