The Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball and could be aggressive ahead of the August 3 trade deadline to bolster the roster.
Atlanta doesn’t have many major needs, but it could look to bolster the rotation. Ahead of the trade deadline, MLB analyst Eric Cole of FanSided urges the team to acquire Reid Detmers from the Los Angeles Angels.
“While Detmers isn’t as sexy a name as Joe Ryan or Sandy Alcantara as a trade target, he might end up fitting the Braves’ mold uniquely well,” Cole wrote. “While he has hovered around a 4 ERA the last two seasons, his combined FIP of 2.98 since the start of 2025 implies that he has been the victim of some bad luck on balls in play in addition to having a crummy defense behind him. …
“More importantly, Detmers would also come with two years of team control beyond 2026, which is right up Anthopoulos’ alley. Of course, that increased amount of team control would come with an increased price tag. The Braves may also have some hesitation with Detmers’ likely high price and demand, given that he missed time in 2025 with elbow inflammation. However, there are a lot more reasons to at least be curious about Detmers than to take him off the table.”
Detmers is 26-years-old and would be a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm for the Braves. He’s 2-5 with a 4.00 ERA in 14 starts this season.
Detmers a Hot Trade Candidate
With the Angels likely to be sellers ahead of the trade deadline, Detmers’ name has come up in trade rumors.
Detmers will be highly-sought after by contending teams, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that several teams are interested in the left-hander.
“Los Angeles Angels left-handed starter Reid Detmers is starting to pick up plenty of traction among teams seeking a starter at the trade deadline,” Nightengale wrote.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, meanwhile, also wrote that Detmers’ name has come up more often in trade talks ahead of the deadline.
“Detmers’ name has surfaced on the trade market before, but with two years of club control remaining, this might be the right time for the Angels to trade the 26-year-old,” Feinsand wrote. “Detmers, a first-round pick in 2020, is 1-0 with a 1.73 ERA in his past four starts, posting a 0.54 WHIP and holding batters to a .105 average during that stretch, striking out 36 in 26 innings. For the season, Detmers ranks in the 89th percentile of the league in strikeout percentage.”
Detmers has two more years of team control.
Braves Urged to ‘Swing Big’ at Deadline
Atlanta is one of the top teams in all of baseball, and the Braves are urged to make a bold move.
The Braves will likely pursue pitching help, and ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan urges the team to acquire Tarik Skubal.
“So why Skubal? Because he’s Skubal. And because all those young arms — not to mention J.R. Ritchie and Cam Caminiti in the minor leagues, and Didier Fuentes at the big league level — give them the firepower to get him. To beat the Dodgers, teams need to assemble a wrecking crew that can go toe-to-toe with the first back-to-back World Series champions in a quarter-century. Starting a series with Skubal and Chris Sale — and having Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder to fill out the rotation — is quite a place to begin,” Passan wrote.
The Braves are 46-25 and have the best record in baseball.
Braves Urged to Acquire Left-Handed Starter to Bolster Rotation