Cubs' failed Reid Detmers trade deadline deal with Angels gets revealing new explanation

For a few minutes on the day of the trade deadline, it had seemed that the Chicago Cubs were going to be moving forward with Reid Detmers at the top of their rotation. A deal was reported to be in place before it quickly got refuted. The Cubs moved on, adding Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor from the New York Mets. We may finally have answers on what went wrong in the trade talks involving Detmers.

Now, the Cubs and Angels did find ground on a different trade, but little was known on who backed away from the deal involving Detmers. According to a report from Arizona Phil of The Cub Reporter, it was the Angels who called the deal off at the last-minute.

New Cubs deadline intel reveals what collapsed Reid Detmers trade

The deal would have included Jaxon Wiggins and likely, Jefferson Rojas. It also sounds like one concept of the trade also included Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire for Ryan Zeferjahn, the trade that was completed between the two teams. Wiggins was the hold-up, as the Angels reportedly balked as his medicals, and the Cubs were unable to include another high-level pitching prospect in his place.

It's hardly a surprise that Wiggins was at the center of why the trade for Detmers collapsed. Wiggins spent the first several months of the 2026 on the IL with elbow inflammation, but the Cubs never exactly revealed what caused it. Once he did make his return to the Iowa Cubs, he didn't exactly have the success that matched him being the top pitching prospect in the organization, and he was eventually moved to the bullpen.

If how Detmers ended the season with the Angels was any indication, he would have given the Cubs a level of success they weren't able to achieve with Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman. Detmers posted an ERA of 1.95 over his last 10 starts of the season, striking out over 29% of the hitters he faced. There's also the added value of him being under control through the 2028 season. Meanwhile, Gausman isn't expected to return to the Cubs, and they will likely face competition for Holmes this offseason.

It remains to be seen if the Cubs will pursue Detmers again this offseason. Considering the other moves the Cubs made at the deadline, they may not have the prospect capital to go that scale in a trade this winter. At least, not without including Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez.

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