Angels have a shot at former Cy Young-caliber arm left behind after Mets trade

The dust is beginning to settle on the starting pitching market this offseason. Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai, and Michael King have all signed, while the winter has also seen notable trades of Edward Cabrera, Shane Baz, and Mike Burrows. Not to be overlooked, the Brewers traded Freddy Peralta to the Mets. It's that trade of Peralta that could lead to the Los Angeles Angels finally identifying a pitcher to add to their rotation.

The two obvious names that remain on the free-agent market are Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen. Valdez entered the offseason with the impression of being the top free-agent pitcher on the market, but teams could be putting stock into the character concerns that surfaced during his final season with the Houston Astros.

It was rumored that the strongest suitors for Valdez were the Mets and Baltimore Orioles. With the Mets opting to trade for Peralta, it stands to reason the Orioles will be the team to sign the 32-year-old veteran.

If the Angels are itching to find a pitcher, Zac Gallen may fall right into their laps

That leaves Gallen as the biggest name remaining on the free-agent market, but there are several reasons that could explain why his market is cratering. The obvious is that Gallen was bad last year. The former National League Cy Young Award candidate posted an ERA of 4.83 in 33 starts last year with a noticeable decline in his strikeout rate.

At the center of Gallen's struggles last year, along with a decline in performance over the last three years, is that his fastball has lost value. It needs some tweaking before he can be considered a top-of-the-rotation arm, and that speaks to why his market has been quiet this offseason.

Even if a team was willing to take on that project, Gallen rejected a qualifying offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the start of the offseason. Signing Gallen would force a team to part with draft-pick compensation as well as international bonus pool money. Not exactly the sacrifice a team is looking to make for a pitcher who is viewed as a reclamation project.

At this point in the offseason, Gallen may be forced to take a short-term deal. Scott Boras, who represents Gallen, will likely push for the contract to include opt-outs. The Angels have money to spend, and while the opt-outs could be a non-starter, Gallen could be there for the taking.

It's not an ideal outcome to the offseason, but after all, there's not much that is ever ideal with how the Angels operate.