The Angels announced tonight that they have opted to use the struggling left-hander Reid Detmers to Triple-A Salt Lake following a loss to the Mariners tonight. No corresponding move to replace Detmers on the active roster has been announced.
The move comes after a rough start for Detmers against Seattle last night, in which he gave up five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings of work. Tonight's blowout start is the eighth straight start for Detmers, who entered tonight with a brutal 8.59 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work over his last seven appearances. During that time, the lefty struck out just 21.5% of the batters he faced, a significant step down from the 26.1% average he posted in his 2023 campaign. Perhaps even more ironically, Detmers has allowed nine home runs over those seven starts, raising his run/fly ball rate this year to 13.2%.
Given the lefty's deep struggles during his nearly two-month tenure, it's no surprise that the Halos would select him in the minors in hopes of righting the ship. After all, the left-hander is still in his age-24 season and has emerged as a potential starter with career hits, including striking out 34.9% of the batters he faced in his first four games this season. while posting a 1.19 ERA and 1.54 FIP in 22 2/3 innings of work. That tension has been a hallmark of Detmers' performances since the Angels selected him 10th overall in the 2020 draft. In the lefty's 70 career starts in the majors, he posted 60 or more game points in 23 of them while posting fewer than 40 game points in 20 of them. That frustrating mix of clunkers and gems has left Detmers with slightly below-par major league pitcher career numbers (4.60 ERA, 93 ERA+, 4.13 FIP) for his career despite his obvious talent.
Detmers' demotion could impact the lefty's service life if he spends much of the remainder of the 2024 campaign in the minor leagues. The lefty entered the 2024 season with two years and 64 days of service time and currently has accumulated 65 days of service time so far this season. Players accumulate 172 days of service time in a full season in the majors, meaning Detmers would need to spend at least 43 more days on the disabled list this season to finish the year with three years of service. If he spends fewer than 43 days in the major leagues throughout the 2024 season, the lefty's first chance at free agency will be pushed back from after the 2027 campaign to after the 2028 campaign. Fortunately for Detmers, manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) after the game that his move to the minors is not expected to be “permanent”.
“The whole idea is we want to put him in a place where it's not the results that you're going to worry about, and you get your stuff,” Washington said, as relayed by Fletcher. “This is not something that's going to last forever… We feel like he needs to be in a place where he can find who he is.”
While the lefties try to return to the big league roster in Anaheim, the Angels will need to find a fifth starter to complement their current rotation mix. Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canningagain Jose Soriano. The right hand Zach Plesac he's the most experienced pitcher the Angels have in the minors, but he's not on the club's 40-man roster and has struggled to a 6.52 ERA in eleven starts in Triple-A this year. That would leave the Angels turning left Kenny Rosenbergwho sports a 3.92 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 43 2/3 innings of work at the major league level since his 2022 debut and sports a 3.86 ERA in eleven starts at Triple-A this season.
Another way, as noted by Fletcher, may be an injury to the right hand Chase Silseth. Silseth posted a 3.96 ERA in sixteen appearances alternating between the rotation and bullpen for the Angels last year but was shut down after two starts this season due to elbow inflammation. Since then, however, he's started a rehab career that saw him pitch three innings in his first start yesterday. While Silseth will certainly need more time to rehabilitate the minors before he's ready to start the majors, Fletcher points out that the Angels may push back his starting decision for about two weeks due to upcoming days off on June 6 and June 10.
Source link
