The Chicago Cubs need starting pitching at the trade deadline, and Reid Detmers could be a solid fit.
The Los Angeles Angels are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, and Detmers is a player who could draw plenty of interest. He has had an up-and-down career so far and was a reliever last season. However, this year, he is back in the starting rotation and has had solid results.
He has a 4.03 ERA, but a couple of blowup starts have really inflated his numbers. Overall, he has been a solid arm and is under club control for two more seasons. He has a 1.65 ERA in three starts since the start of the second half. The Cubs recently designated Jameson Taillon for assignment and have Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown on the injured list. Cade Horton is out for the year, and by the time Justion Steele is ready to pitch, it may be too late to build him up as a starter.
Detmers' breaking run value is the best in baseball, and his strikeout rate sits at 28.3%. He is not going to cost as much as a player like Tarik Skubal, and could really help the Cubs get into October and make a run.
Right now, the Cubs are a wild card team, looking to hawk down the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. Adding Detmers would give them a rotation that features him, Cabrera, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga in the postseason.
Then next season, they would add Horton to the mix. Overall, Detmers is the kind of player the Cubs could target without having to give up a haul. They can probably make the postseason without him, but he surely improves their odds of making a run.