Jed Hoyer completing Cubs' trade deadline haul with Reid Detmers would prove he learned from his mistakes

While I'd love nothing more than a shocking blockbuster that brings Logan Webb or Mason Miller to Chicago, I understand that I don't live in a fantasy world and need to be realistic about my hopes heading into Monday's MLB trade deadline.

Even so, that doesn't mean I can't have high hopes for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs on the heels of a Kevin Gausman trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that felt like a straight-up steal.

We know the Cubs aren't done. Gausman was a nice first step, but a controllable starter (and we can probably pretty safely assume a late-inning reliever) is still on the team's to-do list. The majority of the relief market is yet to move and there are plenty of names on the starting pitching front that would fit the bill, including Los Angeles Angels southpaw Reid Detmers.

Detmers, 27, is arbitration-eligible for two more years beyond 2026, potentially giving the Cubs a badly-needed long-term rotation piece to pencil in alongside (health permitting) Cade Horton, Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera. The southpaw gets a ton of swing-and-miss (something Craig Counsell would surely love more of) and would be a huge addition to the pitching staff.

Very intrigued by Soriano, too, but Detmers has an ENORMOUS edge in K-BB, similar overall contact quality, and much better expected stats. Detmers gets dinged by the models on his fastball, but it gets results. We've seen that profile before ... https://t.co/0g22yPFpsC pic.twitter.com/BV8lfAQTrF
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) August 2, 2026

Reid Detmers helps offset massive looming Cubs exodus this winter

Heading into the weekend, we knew the Cubs were staring at the likes of Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and David Peterson departing in free agency. Hoyer got a head start on that list when he DFAd Taillon and then traded him to Toronto, but the point remains: there's a lot of uncertainty regarding the rotation heading into 2027.

Layer in the fact we don't really know what (if anything) Chicago will get from Cade Horton and Justin Steele and it's clear that a starter that comes with multiple years of control is a must if we're to call the 2026 MLB trade deadline a success. Detmers profiles well and could be a huge get for this team, and show that Hoyer learned his lesson from settling, rather than getting aggressive last time around.

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Reid Detmers helps offset massive looming Cubs exodus this winter

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