Angels’ Reid Detmers optioned to the minors weeks after pitching no-hitter: ‘He’s going to be back here’

Just over a month after becoming the youngest Los Angeles Angels pitcher in team history to throw a no-hitter, rookie Reid Detmers was demoted to the minors before Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. 

The 22-year-old left-hander was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake following his sixth consecutive winless appearance on Tuesday, when the Royals topped the Angels 12-11 for their second win in the three-game series. 

“Just a little bit of a reset for him,” manager Phil Nevin said of the move, via The Orange County Register. “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.”

ANGLES LOSE WILD GAME IN EXTRA INNINGS TO THE ROYALS

He continued: “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.”

In just his 11th career start, Detmers became the youngest pitcher in Angels history to pitch a no-hitter. It was against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10. 

Since then, he is 0-2 with a 5.67 ERA in his six starts. He has allowed eight homers and yielded 13 walks over those 27 combined innings, his performance dipping along with the Angels’ lengthy team-wide slump.

“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,” Nevin added. “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.”

 

Los Angeles has lost 21 of 27 heading into its series finale against the Royals but closed it out with a 5-0 win. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.