Vital Angels pitcher's injury not substantial, states intentions regarding his role

With the still unverified but expected news that Kyle Hendricks is hanging up his cleats after the season ends, Angels fans know for sure what they need to do in 2026 -- completely overhaul their starting rotation. Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano are cool, but nobody expects Tyler Anderson or Jack Kochanowicz to play a role next season whatsoever. Hendricks was having a fine season, but he was on an expiring contract and he was not the most appealing candidate to re-sign given his limited ceiling.

Well, it just so happens that the Angels have an experienced starter on the roster, who just salvaged his career this season and is under contract for the foreseeable future.

Vital Angels pitcher's injury not substantial, states intentions regarding his role

Reid Detmers, a 26-year-old former first round pick with a no-hitter under his belt, will have all eyes on him during 2026 spring training. Thankfully, between now and then he will have a normal offseason according to the Angels beat writers. Detmers came down with what he called "dead arm" after an appearance on September 10th, but it turned out to be elbow inflammation that wound up ending his season. He told the media that he has no structural damage, will not need surgery and now he can build himself up as a starter if the Angels and he communicate on what his role will be next season.

Detmers said that his preference would be to get out of the bullpen and back into the starting rotation next season. Now, his track record as a starter was awfully spotty from 2023-2024 -- in 45 MLB starts in those two seasons, Detmers had a 5.30 ERA, 4.35 FIP and a 1.43 WHIP. He was optioned down to Triple-A several times during his tenure as an Angels starter, and lost to Jack Kochanowicz in the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation this year. In hindsight, that was a bad sign.

Detmers was moved to the bullpen, and honestly was a revelation and a godsend for the organization. Kenley Jansen and he stabilized the back-end of the bullpen for most of the season, so moving him out of the role would be playing with fire. Perhaps the Angels could sell high on him in an offseason trade to a team who would want him in the rotation given his incredible season? It just stands to reason that the Angels would want to leave him in the bullpen, and maybe even make him the closer if Jansen departs in free agency.

This feels like a quandary for the Angels -- they desperately need starting pitching, but moving Detmers back into the rotation feels risky given his track record. If they trade him to a team that will slot him in as a starter, he might make them look foolish. This is an incredible subplot for the offseason, and thankfully Detmers will have a normal one and will improve even more heading into 2026.

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