Two teams claim the Los Angels media market as home and that is about the only similarity between the two franchises. The blue team that actually plays in Los Angeles is coming off back to back World Series titles and has a farm system rich in talent. The red one who originated in LA but now calls Anaheim home is riding the majors longest playoff drought and in desperate need of a talent infusion.
And it just so happens that the Angels have the starting pitching the Dodgers need and the Dodgers have the high end prospects the Angels need. Cross town trades are rare but in this case, trading Reid Detmers for a haul of Dodgers prospects could help both teams achieve their immediate goals.
Detmers performance and two plus years of contract control make him a very valuable trade chip. When looking to cash in a high value asset, go to the place with the most wealth.
The Dodgers need Reid Detmers.
Shohei Ohtani is not pitching due to a knee injury. Blake Snell is rehabbing from another injury in a career full of injuries. The same goes for Tyler Glasnow. All three hope to be pitching again in August but all three have enough injury history for the Dodgers to be concerned.
Those injuries came after Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, and Landon Knack were placed on the 60 day injured list. None are close to coming back this season and with only Miller engaged in any baseball activities and he is only throwing lightly.
Reid Detmers return to the rotation is going swimmingly. The southpaw has been particularly dominant at home. Detmers has racked up the 8th most strikeouts in baseball (86) and has a WHIP of only 1.1. Fielding Independent Pitching says he should have an ERA of 3.27 but playing in front of the Angels defense had lead to a real ERA of 4.05.
In the immediate future Detmers would be a perfect addition to the Dodgers rotation. His bullpen experience means he could also be a weapon out of the bullpen for the team in October if all of Yamomoto, Ohtani, Snell, and Glasnow are healthy.
The Angels need high end prospects.
The Angels need talent at all levels. It is tough to undergo a years long rebuild in a competitive market like Southern California so the Angels need to hit on their prospect returns. Targeting a farm system loaded with talent is a good way to ensure a solid return.
Any return for a player of Detmers quality and club friendly contract should be hefty. In any deal that could be considered these are the names the Angels would need to target.
Zyhir Hope is a 5 tool slugger on the rise.
A dynamic, five-tool outfielder crushing AA pitching with immense raw power. Evaluators heavily favor Hope as a marquee trade chip in a potential summer blockbuster.
Currently rated as the 19th best prospect by MLB Pipeline, Hope is slashing .287/.367/.521 with 21 home runs, 17 doubles, and 17 stolen bases in 89 games for AA Tulsa. He has struck out 100 times in those 89 games to 44 walks, which is why he is rated a bit lower than the outfielder below.
Mike Sirota looks like a future All Star.
Sirota had a 72 game on base streak earlier this year and is shooting up prospect lists. The 23 year old outfielder might be the only prospect the Dodgers consider truly off limits. But the Angels should ask.
His numbers are video game caliber: .325/.478/.602 through 35 games at High A before .318/.467/.528 in AA. Here’s is where it gets crazy he has 77 walks this season compared to 88 strikeouts. On the year he has laced 23 doubles and 14 home runs while legging out a triple and swiping 11 bags.
Christian Zazueta has electric stuff.
In order to pull off a relatively quick rebuild the Angels need to target highly talented players who are at the AA level or can be expected to finish the season at that level. Zazueta was recently promoted to AA and for good reason.
The 21 year old fireballer has a 0.92 WHIP with 82 strikeouts in just 57.2 innings this season. He took his promotion to AA well throwing 5 scoreless innings.
His 60 grade fastball sets up a 55 grade change up thanks to his above average command. He’s still developing a slider and once that is ready he could truly be dominant.
The Angels can make the Dodgers pay a rivals tax.
Helping the team down the street win is a tough pill to swallow. If an organization trades with its division or crosstown rival they typically demand just a little more in trade.
If the Angels could extract Sirota the remaining pieces would likely be lower on the Dogers list, but still of great value to the Angels. Most likely the Angels could target another big bat in James Tibbs who has limited defensive value.
Or the Angels could look to cash in on multiple positions. A Hope/Zazueta combination would be augmented by a starter like Zach Root to go along with the thump of Tibbs.
Both teams should win a trade.
The Dodgers are set up to compete for a World Series this year and Detmers last two seasons of club control. And they could be getting hit pretty hard with a stiffer luxury tax (there’s no way a salary cap will come into play) as soon as next year. Having a cost controlled, quality pitcher for their champship windown is just what they need.
So they should be willing to pay for it in the type of prospects the Angels desperately need. Combining either of these prospect packages with a potential Red Sox return on Zach Neto and the Brewers return on Jose Soriano would completely revamp the Angels organization.
Yes, it would hurt to help the Dodgers in the short term. But perhaps the fastest way to rise to the level of the Dodgers, Brewers, and Red Sox is to take some of their best talent and put it in your organization.
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