With each solid start, Detmers 'blocking out the noise' as trade rumors swirl

ANAHEIM -- Reid Detmers has continued to boost his potential trade value with two strong starts coming out of the All-Star break.

After throwing six scoreless innings against the Tigers on Friday, the left-hander kept it rolling with 5 1/3 strong frames in a 1-0 loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday in the series finale at Angel Stadium.

Detmers allowed just one run -- a solo homer to JJ Wetherholt on his 85th and final pitch of the afternoon. He saw his velocity dip on an unusually humid day but was otherwise solid against the team he rooted for while growing up in Nokomis, Ill.

“I felt good,” Detmers said. “Got through five with no runs and gave up two hits. And gave up a home run in the sixth but only one run. And I could have gone longer.”

Detmers has seen his name surface as a top trade candidate ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline due to his solid season stats and that he remains under team control through 2028. Detmers said Friday that he’s trying his best to block out the rumors, and right-hander José Soriano said the same thing on Saturday. Like Detmers, Soriano is having a strong year and is also under team control for two more years after this season.

Detmers reiterated his stance again on Wednesday.

“I try not to read anything,” Detmers said. “Obviously, you see stuff all the time. Try to stay off social media. It's just one of those things, it is what it is. I'm here now, and I'm doing my best to help this team win to get to where we want to be, and that's all I'm focused on.”

Manager Kurt Suzuki said he has told his players to worry about things they can control, and believes they’ve taken it to heart with the Deadline looming. Other players like Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Jorge Soler, Kirby Yates and Brent Suter are also potential trade candidates.

“I've been through a lot of these deadlines before as a winning team and as a losing team,” Suzuki said. “And the only thing you can control is coming to the ballpark every day, getting ready to play, playing for each other, and going out and playing the game. Blocking out the noise isn’t easy but they’re professionals.”

Detmers took a tough-luck loss, falling to 3-7 with a 4.05 ERA in 21 starts this season. But the 27-year-old has amassed 136 strikeouts to 37 walks, and allowed just four homers in 120 innings. His 136 punchouts rank fourth in the American League and his strikeout-to-walk percentage of 20.1 percent ranks eighth-best in the AL.

Detmers cruised early against St. Louis, and didn’t give up his first hit until he surrendered a one-out single to Blaze Jordan in the third. He didn’t run into trouble until the fifth, when he walked the first two batters he faced and his velocity started to drop. But Detmers got José Fermín to ground into a double play before striking out Jordan on a slider to get out of the inning unscathed.

“It was just hot,” Detmers said. “The first couple innings felt really good, and then the longer I stayed out there, the more tired I got. Velocity was down a little bit but stuff felt really good actually.”

He came back out for the sixth and struck out Jimmy Crooks looking with a 93.5 mph four-seamer. But after getting ahead with a curveball, Detmers left a 91.9 mph fastball over the middle of the plate to Wetherholt and he smacked it for a solo shot for the game’s lone run.

The Angels believed it was enough from Detmers, especially because of the heat and his declining velocity. But it was still another encouraging showing from Detmers, who is peaking at a fortunate time if the Angels want to move him ahead of the Deadline.

“He was in the sixth, and gave up a homer, gave up the lead, and nobody was on base,” Suzuki said. “With two righties coming up, I figured that was good for him instead of waiting and then all this traffic on base. I just felt like it was the right time to go with the righty. But I thought he was great. He mixed his pitches up and executed pitches when he had to.”