Angels and promising young arm set for intriguing arbitration hearing

On Thursday, the Angels joined the entirety of the big leagues in doing everything possible to reach agreement with arbitration eligible players before the deadline to exchange figures ahead of arbitration. Overall, they were successful in doing so and reached agreements with Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Jose Soriano, Brock Burke, and Logan O’Hoppe. Their aggressiveness with calling up prospects like Neto has proven to be costly earlier than usual, and the Halos were still unable to make a deal with one of their most important players for 2026. 

Arbitration is a chance for players and teams to decide how much a player earns for the upcoming season. None of the aforementioned players were at risk of becoming free agents, but teams typically try to avoid arbitration by agreeing to deals beforehand. It can save money for teams while also keeping the team from having to argue why the player isn’t as valuable as they think to an arbitrator, which can cause bad blood. 

For Reid Detmers and the Angels, the arbitration hearing they seem headed towards could be one of the more interesting this offseason. 

Angels, Detmers heading for intriguing arbitration hearing

Detmers was the sole Halo that did not agree to a deal on Thursday, which sets up a hearing between the two parties. In 2025, Detmers was an electric reliever for the Angels and is now returning to the rotation for the 2026 season. Given his role change, the valuation of Detmers will be an interesting case for arbitration. 

Detmers can make the case that he served as one of the best pitchers for the Angels last season, regardless of role. After an impressive year in the bullpen, he’ll earn an even bigger workload as a part of the rotation in 2026. And if he maintains 3.96 ERA from last season in twice as many innings as a starter, Detmers deserves a substantial raise from his $1.825 million salary from 2025. 

The Angels can point towards 2024, however, when Detmers was last a starting pitcher. His 6.70 ERA that season made him one of the worst players on the Halos, and if the Angels are looking to save money in arbitration then they can make the case Detmers has given little proof he can be a reliable starter for 2026. 

It is a fascinating argument, and one that will likely play out sometime over the next month. The Angels and Detmers can still reach a deal at any time, but typically when agreements aren’t made before figures are swapped, the parties head to arbitration.