ANAHEIM — Reid Detmers is set for his 10th start at Triple-A on Sunday, and if all goes well, it could be his last.
Pitching coach Barry Enright, who has been in close contact with Detmers and Salt Lake pitching coach Shane Loux, said on Saturday that there is a growing belief that the left-hander is almost ready to return to the big leagues.
“In my communication with Shane, people think he is,” Enright said on Saturday. “Obviously we want him to have a stretch of success. He’s had two that have been real good… If he has another good one, which is tomorrow, I hope to see him soon.”
Detmers has a 6.19 ERA in his first nine starts, but he’s allowed three earned runs in 10 innings in his last two starts, with 14 strikeouts. He struck out nine in five innings on Tuesday.
“The slider was a lot better,” Enright said. “He’s feeling confident down there. I think that he’s showing he’s ready to be up here, and I’m hoping to see him soon.”
Detmers, 25, is arguably the most talented starter the Angels have, but he struggled so much earlier this season that the Angels sent him down with a 6.14 ERA after his June 1 start.
Enright said there haven’t been changes to Detmers’ mechanics. It’s mostly been a matter of his mental approach to pitching.
“A lot of times it showed up in big situations, sometimes it showed up in two-strike situations,” Enright said. “Trying to make a pitch too nasty. Trying to throw the fastball too hard and by somebody. The big thing for him is getting to two strikes and all of the sudden it’s 3-and-2.
“Putting guys away when you get there is going to be a work in progress as command improves. More so it’s a mentality of trying to make them hit it instead of trying to make them miss it.”
If the Angels decide Detmers is ready after Sunday’s game, the soonest he could pitch in the majors would be Friday.
Detmers needs to return to the majors by Aug. 19 in order to have a chance to stay in the same service-time class he would have been without the demotion. The Angels optioned Detmers after the game on June 1.
If Detmers returns by Aug. 19 and then and stays in the big leagues, the Angels would have him under control for three more seasons before free agency. If he comes back Aug. 20 or later, the Angels would control Detmers for four more seasons.
Detmers will be arbitration eligible next season as long as he returns by Sept. 10.
The Angels placed infielder Luis Rengifo on the injured list for the second time with right wrist inflammation.
Rengifo was missed three weeks after he was initially hurt on July 3. He returned on July 23, played for a week, and then aggravated the injury twice in the last three games.
Rengifo was set to be evaluated later Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a little bit (frustrating) because I want to be available all the time,” Rengifo said. “I want to help the team and be a part of the team every single day.”
Rengifo was one of the players that many expected the Angels to trade before Tuesday’s deadline, but questions about his wrist no doubt affected other teams’ willingness to give the Angels what they wanted. Rengifo was 3 for 22 between being activated and the deadline.
The Angels called up Charles LeBlanc to take Rengifo’s spot. LeBlanc, 28, had been hitting .262 with an .854 OPS at Triple-A. A right-handed hitter, LeBlanc can play first, second or third. His only previous big league experience was 48 games with the 2022 Miami Marlins. He hit .263 with a .723 OPS.
The Angels had a vacant spot for LeBlanc on the 40-man roster after this week’s trades.
Rengifo’s absence created a hole in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. When Rengifo was out on Thursday, manager Ron Washington put Michael Stefanic in that spot.
Zach Neto then told his manager that he wanted the spot, so he obliged on Saturday.
“I always told them when something hits their minds, they don’t have to be afraid or ashamed of coming to me with it,” Washington said. “He felt he should have been hitting second two days ago when Rengifo was out.”
Washington said he would “give Neto a few games to see how he can handle it. If I don’t like the way he’s handling it, I’m going to talk to him about it. And if he doesn’t make an adjustment, then I’m gonna move him. If he does what I ask him to do up there in that No. 2 hole, he can be there.”
Moving Neto into the No. 2 spot a day after Washington moved catcher Logan O’Hoppe into the No. 3 spot meant the top of the Angels lineup had all three of the young players who seem to be their core of the future. Nolan Schanuel was hitting first.
Washington said he’s still expecting Anthony Rendon (back stiffness) to be activated when the Angels get to New York on Tuesday. “I have’t heard anything different,” Washington said. …
The Angels held their first season-ticket holder photo day since prior to COVID. Season-ticket holders were allowed onto the field and players and coaches came out to pose for photos with them.
Mets (LHP David Peterson, 5-1, 3.52) at Angels (RHP José Soriano, 6-7, 3.69) at Angel Stadium, 6:38 p.m. PT Saturday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
