Angels receive wildly optimistic prediction that would stun fans and shock the league

The Los Angeles Angels may very well intend to contend this season, but if they're going to get there, they'll need a leader for the starting rotation. Grayson Rodriguez is a nice add, Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano are solid pieces, and if all goes well in Reid Detmers' return to the rotation, the Angels will be cooking.

However, even with those four in tow, there is no bona fide ace to lead the staff. Finding one will be dicey. Los Angeles's track record with free-agent starters isn't particularly good, and starting pitching has become one of the most expensive assets in the game.

But if you've followed the Halos for long enough, you know that you can never count Arte Moreno out. At times maddeningly cheap, and other times foolhardy in the manner he throws out cash, the much-maligned owner is a wild card.

The need, plus the unpredictability of Moreno, is exactly why Bleacher Report is predicting them to land a big fish in former Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez.

The Angels signing Framber Valdez would be a fan's dream and shock the league

The Boston Red Sox signing Ranger Suarez has left Valdez as the lone ace left on the market. Truth be told, he's more consistent than Dylan Cease, more proven than Michael King, and more durable than Suarez, making it obvious that he has been the best free-agent starter all along.

Since 2022, only Logan Webb has tossed more innings than the 767.2 that Valdez has logged, and out of all qualified starters in that time span, his 3.21 ERA ranks 17th. That is true ace stuff right there.

Pairing Valdez with Soriano would give the Angels two groundball machines, with Soriano's 65.3% rate ranking first among major league starters last season, and Valdez's 58.6% mark coming in third.

Then there would be the sweetness of stealing him away from a division rival. The Astros' bloated payroll and mismanagement of extension talks with him put them in a position where they have to watch him walk away. If his final destination is Los Angeles with the Angels, even better.

Now, this move is a complete and total long shot. Valdez has had interest from the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, with the New York Mets also believed to be in the fray, but we've heard nothing concrete connecting the Angels to him. That doesn't necessarily mean anything beyond the fact that there's no identifiable smoke making it look like this will happen.

The bigger question will be whether or not the Angels could afford the star southpaw, with the issues with FanDuel Sports Network potentially constricting their revenue. Chalk this one up as hopelessly optimistic but incredibly ideal if it somehow were to come true.