Tarik Skubal is a player that the Milwaukee Brewers should have interest in. For years, team owner Mark Attanasio has talked about the impact that C.C. Sabathia had on the franchise after he was acquired in 2008, and it’s easy to see how Skubal could have a similar impact.
But if Skubal is unlikely for the Brewers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggests, then how exactly could Milwaukee pivot?
The Brewers have the top-ranked farm system in baseball. They are unlikely to trade their high-end prospects for a rental like Skubal. So if Matt Arnold and the front office want to make an impact addition in the rotation, then it would seem likely to be for someone who is controllable. And the Los Angeles Angels’ Reid Detmers would seem to be a logical fit.
Detmers, 26, is not a free agent until 2029. He’s only making $2.63 million this season. He’s extremely talented and will be among the best pitchers potentially on the market this deadline. His numbers don’t immediately jump out — a 4.13 ERA in 18 starts — but he has a 3.08 FIP and 117 strikeouts in 104.2 innings.
Detmers is very Brewersy. He’s signed for cheap, is controllable and the underlying numbers suggest that he’s pitched better than his ERA suggests. He also continues to ascend, adding velocity to his fastball and improving his secondary pitches. The Brewers have arguably the best pitching development system in baseball and it’s fair to believe that of any team to get the most out of Detmers, it would be Milwaukee.
The Brewers have the prospects to get a deal done. But I’m still skeptical that it will happen.
First, it’s rare to see the Brewers win a bidding war for a coveted asset either via trade or free agency. The Brewers had strong interest last deadline in Eugenio Suarez, sources say, though the Diamondbacks held a bidding war for Suarez, one of the top bats available at the time. Milwaukee also typically holds onto their prized young players, though there are exceptions (see: the Christian Yelich trade).
The most important element in this is that the Angels may not even move Detmers. They have typically held off on such moves under Arte Moreno, who prefers to compete and has never signed off on rebuilding. Of course, the Angels have John Mozeliak now running the front office, and it’s possible that Moreno gives him the control to do whatever he wants.
And early on, Moreno has indicated to Mozeliak that he can do as he pleases, and Mozeliak told the LA Times: “If we understand what we’re doing today can help make us stronger tomorrow, and then look at potentially what we could do on the free-agent market, that should be something we are doing in parallel thinking.”
Could that mean selling a, say, Detmers type and adding a different player(s) in free agency?
If so, the Brewers should be calling the Angels to see what it would take to acquire Detmers. In all likelihood, Detmers’ price tag will be too high for the Brewers’ liking, and Arnold and Co. look in a different direction to bolster the rotation. But it would be a surprise if the Brewers left the deadline without a starting pitcher and potentially another bat.
Still, I love Detmers’ fit in Milwaukee. He’d impact their rotation both now and for the next two years, and pairing him with Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison has to be enticing for the organization. I’m just skeptical it will happen.