Cubs could revisit their Edward Cabrera blueprint in a potential Reid Detmers trade

As you no doubt remember from the trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs came within mere feet (inches?) of crossing the finish line for a blockbuster deal involving Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers. Something ended up falling apart at the last second, which forced a pivot to high-leverage reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, but it's clear that Jed Hoyer has a lot of interest in the Halos' southpaw.

Thus, it's probably wise not to count the Cubs out of the running for Detmers this winter when the trade market reopens. Remember, they spent years pursuing Edward Cabrera (and fellow Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo) before finally landing on an Owen Caissie-led package that appeased Miami. Heck, before they actually landed him in January 2026, they had prioritized the right-hander as their "top target" at the 2025 trade deadline.

Sounds somewhat familiar, no? Maybe their attention was stretched a little thinner with Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, and Zeferjahn all coming aboard, but it's not guesswork to suggest that Detmers was the apple of the front office's eye this past summer.

In other words, their pursuit of the Angels' ace may only be getting started.

Cubs will have to get uncomfortable to author a different ending to their Reid Detmers trade saga

One thing to keep in mind regarding a potential Detmers trade is that the Cubs used up a number of their best trade assets at the deadline; Jefferson Rojas was included in the Holmes deal, Brett Bateman went to Toronto for Gausman, Jonathon Long joined Caissie in Miami in exchange for Braxton Garrett, and both Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire became necessary casualties in the Zeferjahn trade.

That's not to say that they don't have enough ammunition to pull off another blockbuster, but it's going to be harder to do so without completely gutting the farm system. Plus, by acquiring Zeferjahn, the Cubs have already surrendered two valuable prospects that the Angels clearly like a lot. The wheels on this deal may already be greased, but Hoyer's trade talks with whoever is running the Halos' front office this offseason won't be picking back up from the one-yard line.

It also won't help that Detmers is 27 and one of the best controllable starters on the market. His overall numbers (3.36 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 28.5% strikeout rate, 4.9 fWAR) are impressive enough, but you can be sure the Angels will be reminding interested teams that he recorded a 1.89 ERA and 2.54 FIP in 76⅓ second-half innings.

All of that will serve to increase the cost it'll take to trade for him, but it's also the reason why Detmers is clearly worth it. Even as the Cubs lick their wounds from their fledgling (and failing) Cabrera trade, they can't be scared off from swinging big again this offseason.

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