Probably a handful of times in this space leading up until the Aug. 3 trade deadline, I will address a starting pitcher who is likely to be dealt. But only if said pitcher is in either a very beneficial or disadvantageous spot in that night's game from a betting perspective. And I believe the latter is true for Los Angeles Angels lefty Reid Detmers tonight at Texas. It's an 8:05 ET first pitch.
Angels-Rangers MLB same-game parlay
- Texas money line
- Alt Under 9.5
FanDuel SGP price: +117
Because so many clubs are within shouting distance of wild card spots, there might only be six true sellers in terms of the trade market right now, but unquestionably the Angels will be among the bigger ones. Apparently, Mike Trout is not available, which makes me laugh because that franchise can't get out of its own way and let the poor guy go to a team that has a chance of playing postseason baseball â like essentially his hometown of Philadelphia.
The Halos fired GM Perry Minasian late last month, because that's smart with about a month to go before the deadline, and replaced him with former Cardinals GM John Mozeliak on an interim basis. It appears Mozeliak has at least a "not-red" light from ownership to sell off many pieces other than Trout.
Among Angels pitchers, Jose Soriano would bring back more in a trade because he's under team control through 2028, but L.A. might set his price too high. There is no doubt that Detmers will go somewhere because left-handed veterans are gold down the stretch and in the playoffs. And Detmers did pitch fully in relief last year, so he could be a swing guy as needed, but he surely would be acquired as a starter as that is what he has been most of his six-year career.
This season, the 27-year-old is 3-6 with a 4.13 ERA and neither of those numbers are great, but he has 117 strikeouts in 104.2 innings with a .213 opponents' batting average and a WHIP of 1.11. Some clubs consider him a much cheaper and backup option to the big pitching fish on the market: Detroit's Tarik Skubal. The Milwaukee Brewers have been mentioned a lot for Detmers.
The question is whether the Angels waited too long to move Detmers, as since throwing seven shutout innings in Arizona on June 16, he is winless in three starts with 12 earned runs and 17 hits allowed over 16.2 innings. The strikeouts are still there, but the walks are up -- 10 total and at least three in each. It could simply be that Detmers is tiring like many big-leaguers are by this point of the season. But the longer the Angels wait, perhaps the more his value drops.
Detmers faced the Rangers once this season and had arguably the outing of his life on May 24 in Anaheim, striking out a career-high 14 with no walks and just one hit allowed in eight innings. Sadly, he had to take a no-decision. Detmers retired 24 of 25 batters, allowing a home run to Jake Burger leading off the second. I'm not remotely worried betting this game that we see that Detmers again, and the SportsLine Projection Model has him at 6.1 innings, 6.5 strikeouts, 5.1 hits allowed and 2.5 earned runs.
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Meanwhile, it's big righty Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers, who will add if they do anything ahead of the deadline but probably nothing major. Eovaldi (9-7, 4.02 ERA) has won four straight starts ⦠after going winless in the previous three. That's really who the 36-year-old Texan is. When Eovaldi gets it clicking, it usually goes for a while. But when it something is off, that lasts multiple starts as well. Right now, it's the clicking â including nine strikeouts in three straight.
Eovaldi lost at home to the Angels on May 23, but it wasn't his fault as he had a quality start (7 IP, 3 ER). The model forecasts him at 6.1 innings, 6.4 strikeouts, 5.2 hits allowed and 2.1 earned runs. No Angels have done much off him in his career.
Trout just returned from a three-week stay on the injured list Wednesday and homered on the 15th anniversary of his MLB debut; the three-time MVP is a .235 batter with a homer and 10 strikeouts in 34 at-bats off Eovaldi.
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This would be one where I am completely fine on Rangers -140 money line solo but try to get plus-money prices in this space. The full-game total is 7, and I don't expect Texas to bat bottom of nine. The model has eight runs scored. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
