These 4 pitchers may make the Angels the perfect trade partner for the Cardinals

Reid Detmers

Like Sandoval, Reid Detmers is another extremely hot-or-cold Angels pitcher with an extremely high upside. Detmers tossed a no-hitter and an immaculate inning in his streaky rookie campaign, but also had a few extremely bad starts. His 2022 season showed extreme promise, as Detmers blossomed into a solid mid-rotation arm, posting a 3.77 ERA and 3.79 FIP. Like Sandoval, however, he took a few steps back in 2023 and regressed to a 4.48 ERA and 4.13 FIP.

In spite of a weaker fastball, Detmers' breaking pitches are quite lethal, and his strikeout rate improved considerably in 2023, going from 8.5 K/9 to 10.2 K/9. Amongst all Angels' pitchers aside from Ohtani, Detmers' strikeout ability was by far the best, something that will certainly interest the Cardinals. However, his walk rate and hard-hit rate both increased for weaker run prevention. At only age 24, it's clear Detmers has yet to put the pieces together and still has plenty of time to improve.

In spite of an impending rebuild, it's quite unlikely the Angels entertain trade offers for Detmers, who still has four years of control left. The Cardinals would likely need to give up several top prospects, which they may not be willing to do. After all, Detmers has shown flashes of greatness but has still yet to prove himself as a frontline ace. With the Cardinals seeking rotation certainty, that prospect capital may be better spent elsewhere. Fortunately, the Angels have a few other arms that could satisfy those needs at a cheaper price.