Report: Chicago Cubs had major deadline trade nixed at last minute

The Chicago Cubs were given credit for doing the best they could at this year’s trade deadline to bolster a banged-up, depleted pitching staff. In total, they acquired Kevin Gausman from the Blue Jays, Clay Holmes from the Mets (along with outfielder Tyrone Taylor), Braxton Garrett from the Marlins, and Ryan Zeferjahn from the Angels.

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But, if recent reports are accurate, they were close to making a much bigger splash.

According to online sources, the Cubs and Angels had a deal in place that would’ve brought over coveted starting pitcher Reid Detmers along with Zeferjhan. As reported, the deal would’ve been Detmers and Zeferjahn for Moises Ballesteros, Jaxon Wiggins, Mason McGwire, and possibly Jefferson Rojas.

Angels nix Detmers deal at the last minute

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The Angels, however, rejected Wiggins’ medicals at the last moment, but went through with the deal that sent Zeferjahn over for Ballesteros and McGwire. The last-minute change of mind forced the Cubs to swerve to the Mets and make the Holmes and Taylor for Rojas trade (after a Holmes trade to the Diamondbacks was nixed at the last minute as well).

Here’s the actual report, via Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter:

“What I heard from two different sources is that there was indeed a deal in place for Reid Detmers at the Trade Deadline with the Cubs having OK’d his medicals (which is probably why Michael Cerami at Bleacher Nation reported the trade as a “done deal”), but then the Angels unexpectedly rejected the medicals on Jaxon Wiggins and did not wish to substitute a different Cubs pitching prospect for Wiggins (Cubs #2 pitching prospect Kaleb Wing might have been an OK replacement for Wiggins, but he had just had elbow surgery a week prior to the Trade Deadline), and so the deal (which was supposed to be a four-for-two trade) fell through before it was officially consummated.

There was supposedly another position player in the original deal (believed to be Jefferson Rojas, because it was definitely NOT Josiah Hartshorn or Owen Ayers), as well as what turned out to be a second section of the trade (Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire for Ryan Zeferjahn) that was completed.”

What might’ve been

This would explain why there was a report of a Detmers-to-the-Cubs trade earlier on the day of the deadline that later had to be retracted.

Needless to say, picking up Detmers—who was red-hot down the stretch and who would’ve been under team control through the 2028 season—would’ve been a much more consequential pitching pickup than Holmes, who started well, but fizzled later.

Detmers’ last ten starts of the season, following the trade deadline, saw him post a 1.95 ERA over 60 innings. On the year, the 27-year-old lefty had a 3.36 ERA through 32 starts.

The near-deal, though, gives hope that maybe it could be revisited this winter or spring.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-reid-detmers-trade-angels-deadline/