ANAHEIM, Calif. — Just six weeks after he pitched a no-hitter, Angels pitcher Reid Detmers was sent back to Triple-A.
The left-hander posted a 5.67 ERA in six starts since his May 10 no-hitter, including allowing five runs in five innings on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the Angels sent him to Salt Lake.
“Just a little bit of a reset for him,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “There’s greatness in there. I’ve said that before. There’s been a ton of guys who had to go back down and kind of reset themselves.”
Detmers, 22, rocketed to the big leagues just 13 months after the Angels made him their first-round pick in the 2020 draft. Because there was no minor league season in 2020, Detmers pitched just 13 professional games before the Angels brought him to the majors for his debut on Aug. 1, 2021.
He won a rotation spot in spring training, but since then he has not lived up to his potential, outside of one brilliant night.
Including the no-hitter, Detmers has a 4.66 ERA in 12 starts. He has struck out 6.8 and walked 3.3 hitters per nine innings. He finished six innings in just two starts, mostly because he had trouble managing his pitch count even in the games in which he was effective. Twice he was pulled short of five innings, even though he hadn’t allowed any runs.
“It’s repeating pitches, understanding how to shorten at-bats, not throwing as many pitches,” Nevin said. “That’s all part of learning how to pitch. He really hasn’t had that many major league or minor league innings underneath his belt. It’s very rare you see the guy come right out of college, and have the accomplishments that he’s had.”
Nevin also suggested that the trip to the minors could be a mental break for Detmers.
“Sometimes things just snowball and it just weighs on you,” Nevin said. “You can tell from his demeanor a little bit, the confidence wasn’t quite what it was. With a guy with his stuff, it shouldn’t be that way. I think he understands that but you know, there’s pressures of pitching up here. There’s pressures of pitching everywhere. He’s a first-round pick and he got here quick, but to go down where he’s gonna be at, he’ll take a deep breath, get some good work in. He’s going to be back here. He’s going to make some starts this year. I can assure you that he will. He’ll be better.”
Nevin said the Angels haven’t decided what they will do with their rotation now. They currently have just four starters on the active roster — Shohei Ohtani, Noah Syndergaard, Patrick Sandoval and Michael Lorenzen — but they will continue to use a six-man rotation. José Suarez, Jhonathan Diaz and Chase Silseth could all be recalled the next time the Angels need a starter.
Kenny Rosenberg, who was just sent down, needs to be down for 15 days before he can come back, unless he’s replacing an injured player. Suarez does need to be down for 15 days because he was called up as the 27th man for the doubleheader on Saturday.
The Angels also currently have Janson Junk and Jaime Barria in the bullpen, and either of them could start. Barria would probably be limited to three or four innings because he’s been pitching in relief all season.
Days off
The Angels did not start Mike Trout or Jared Walsh on Wednesday, because Nevin said both players needed the day off.
Nevin said Trout’s day off “has been a while coming.” The three-time American League MVP missed time a couple of weeks ago with a groin injury, and he hadn’t had a day off since then. He’d played 19 innings in center field on Saturday alone.
“This was a mutual thing,” Nevin said. “It’s something that was planned a while back, if he was gonna get through the whole weekend. He’s been going extremely hard and is extremely sore. It’s a credit to him with how hard he’s been going.”
Trout has said that he feels there’s a benefit when he can get the day off before a scheduled off day, which gives him two straight days to rest at the cost of just one game.
Walsh got a day off after a three-hit game that included a homer and a triple. He missed two last weekend with an illness. Nevin also said this matchup — against left-hander Daniel Lynch — offered a good opportunity for right-handed hitting David MacKinnon to get a start at first base.
Herget hurt
Relief pitcher Jimmy Herget was placed on the 15-day injured list after he complained of some shoulder discomfort following Tuesday’s game.
Notes
The Angels recalled relievers Oliver Ortega and Elvis Peguero, taking the roster spots of Detmers and Herget. …
Nevin said that struggling left-hander Aaron Loup has “been diving into some things” that will help him get back to form, including different pitch shapes and improving his command. Loup had an 0.95 ERA last season, but he’s got a 4.68 ERA this year.
