Conflicting Reports About Cubs Acquiring Reid Detmers

Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami was the first to report that the Cubs were acquiring lefty Reid Detmers from the Angels, but ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, and Just Baseball’s Peter Appel subsequently reported that no deal is done. While I have not been able to confirm anything one way or the other, Cerami stood by the veracity of his source and I have no reason to doubt him.

Update: Cerami has since retracted his initial report. He must have gotten some bad info from his source, which is understandable given the cost involved. This was an honest mistake on his part and I know he shared the information in good faith, so there’s no reason to dump on him. Michael is a good dude who does good work, he just caught caught on this one and he owned it.

If the Cubs have indeed landed Detmers, it gives them an inexpensive starter who is under control via arbitration for two more years after this one. He just turned 27 and has pitched parts of six seasons in MLB, all with the Angels, since being selected 10th overall out of Louisville in 2020. His 4.03 ERA is well above his 3.35 FIP, making him a very strong candidate for positive regression.

The Angels have one of the worst defenses in the league, with -5 defensive runs saved and -22 outs above average. Contrast that with the Cubs, who blow the rest of MLB away with 76 DRS and 55 OAA. Detmers isn’t a grounder-getter, but he’s done a decent job of avoiding hard contact with a fastball/slider mix that is supplemented by a curve and change.

I’ll leave any further analysis for later because Jeff Passan just reported that the Cubs have a deal in place for Angels righty reliever Ryan Zeferjahn. You can read more about Zeferjahn, who was acquired in exchange for Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire — which seems to many like a massive overpay — right here.