1 last-minute trade Diamondbacks must make before deadline

The Arizona Diamondbacks are running out of time to solve the one problem that’s kept them from separating in the National League Wild Card race: starting pitching. General manager Mike Hazen has made no secret of it, calling a controllable starter and a left-handed bat his “1 and 1A” priorities heading into Monday’s 3 p.m. MST deadline. With the clock ticking, Arizona has one obvious call left to make, and it’s to the Angels about left-hander Reid Detmers.

Why Detmers Fits Arizona’s Biggest Need

Detmers has quietly turned into one of the most valuable trade chips on the board this summer. Back in a starting role after a year in the bullpen, he’s posted a 4.03 ERA over 22 starts, he turned 27 in July, and he’s making just $2.6 million this season with two additional years of club control through 2028. That combination of performance, cost and term is exactly what a team like Arizona needs, since the Diamondbacks have been dealing with a rotation depleted by injuries and don’t want a rental who walks in October.

The Angels, for their part, have already started selling. Los Angeles shipped Logan O’Hoppe and Chase Silseth to Texas earlier in the week, Jose Soriano was traded to Toronto today, and Detmers is expected to move before the deadline closes. Rival executives have connected the Cubs, Dodgers and White Sox to Detmers, but Arizona’s need is more urgent than any of theirs, and the Diamondbacks have already shown this front office is willing to pay a real price for rotation help, as last summer’s Merrill Kelly deal with Texas proved.

The Last-Minute Trade Offer

Arizona has the pieces to get this done before Monday’s deadline, and it doesn’t require touching its big-league roster. Here’s the framework:

Diamondbacks receive:

• LHP Reid Detmers

Angels receive:

• LHP Kohl Drake
• LHP Mitch Bratt

This offer works because it recycles value the Diamondbacks already banked in last year’s Merrill Kelly trade. Drake and Bratt both have already gotten looks in the majors this year, with Bratt making his MLB debut in June and striking out three batters in three innings against St. Louis. Drake, a 25-year-old lefty with a projectable 6-foot-5 frame, gives the Angels a controllable arm to plug into their own rebuilding rotation, while Bratt adds a second interesting lefty prospect who’s already shown he can miss bats at the highest level

Why This Deal Gets Done Before The Deadline

For Arizona, moving two depth arms it hasn’t fully committed rotation spots to is a small price for two extra years of a proven big-league starter. Hazen has already indicated he’d prefer a controllable pitcher over a pure rental, and Detmers checks that box perfectly while letting the Diamondbacks keep their MLB-ready core intact. This isn’t a deal that costs Arizona its top prospects; it’s one that leverages surplus pitching depth the front office stockpiled specifically for a moment like this.

For the Angels, getting two lefties with big-league experience back for a player they’re openly shopping represents exactly the kind of return a selling team wants at the deadline, controllable talent, not just a batch of complementary parts. If Hazen wants to keep his club in the Wild Card picture down the stretch, sending Drake and Bratt to Los Angeles for Detmers is the last-minute swing that gets it done.

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