MLB Trade Rumors dropped the report early Tuesday: both the Cubs and White Sox are showing interest in Reid Detmers, and now Chicago's two baseball teams are staring down the very real possibility of bidding against each other for the same guy.
MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that both Chicago clubs are in on the Angels lefty.
The appeal is obvious. Detmers is 3-7 with a 4.05 ERA across 21 starts, numbers that undersell how good he's been lately — since the All-Star break he's thrown 11 1/3 innings of one-run ball against Detroit and St. Louis with 13 strikeouts and just 2 walks. He's striking out 28% of hitters this season while posting a career-best 7.5% walk rate, and he's still under club control through 2028 making just over $2.6 million a year. For a rental-heavy deadline market, that kind of cost certainty is gold.
The Cubs' motivation is desperation dressed up as opportunity. Chicago's rotation has been shredded — Cade Horton is out for the year after elbow surgery, Justin Steele is still grinding through Tommy John rehab, Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown are both sidelined, and the team already designated Jameson Taillon. What's left is Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea and David Peterson. Detmers wouldn't just be depth, he'd be an upgrade.
The White Sox angle is the more interesting one, because this isn't a rebuild move. Chicago's south side club is sitting 2.5 games up in the AL Central and needs a rotation arm to back up Sean Burke, with Davis Martin scuffling since June and Anthony Kay, Erick Fedde and rookie Noah Schultz all inconsistent. A controllable lefty fits their competitive window perfectly, which makes this a legitimate divisional arms race, not a tank-team fishing expedition.
What's changed on the Angels' side is arguably the bigger story. Under interim GM John Mozeliak, LA is reportedly genuinely open to moving controllable pieces, a departure from years of hoarding around Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani-era windows. With the deadline set for August 3, both Chicago front offices have days, not weeks, to make their case — and one of them is about to lose a bidding war to a team that shares its own city.