3 players who LA Angels need to trade for as soon as MLB lockout ends

The LA Angels have made a trade this offseason with their Tyler Wade acquisition, but haven't been active in trades for pitching.

If they want to make sure they don't waste Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtanis' careers, they need to make sure they go ahead and make trade packages for starting pitchers.

Currently, their starting rotation looks like this:

1. Shohei Ohtani/Noah Syndergaard

2. Shohei Ohtani/Noah Syndergaard

3. Patrick Sandoval

4. Jose Suarez

5. Michael Lorenzen

6. ???

With many of the top free agent starters already gone, the Halos are going to have to resort to the trade market.

No. 3 player who LA Angels need to trade for as soon as MLB lockout ends: Frankie Montas

According to Jim Bowden of CBS Sports, the LA Angels have already "had conversations with Oakland about Frankie Montas." It makes sense, as many are expecting the A's to host a fire sale when the lockout ends, and the Halos of course desperately need starting pitching.

And Montas is exceptional at his job. This year, he threw an AL-leading 32 starts, and posted a 13-9 record with a 3.37 ERA. It certainly was no fool's gold, as his FIP was also 3.37 and he recorded a 1.182 WHIP.

Striking out 10 batters per nine innings, it was his third season in double-digits like that. The only question Montas had entering this past season was regarding his durability, and he certainly proved that he's durable.

He did it while also recording a 121 ERA+. What exactly are the Angels waiting for?

No. 1 player who LA Angels need to trade for as soon as MLB lockout ends: Chris Bassitt

Chris Bassitt was another starting pitcher that Bowden said the LA Angels have called the A's about. And I don't even think I need to explain why, but I'm going to because I want to point out just how good Bassitt would be for this team.

Bassitt was an All-Star this year, and like Castillo he would have been an All-Star in 2020 if the game didn't get canceled. In these last three years, Bassitt has posted a 3.26 ERA, a 1.128 WHIP, and a 128 ERA+. He was a key to the A's playoff teams in 2019 and 2020, and had the second-best year of his career this season.

There's so much to like about Bassitt these last three years, as he's figured out how to stay healthy in that time frame. Batters only hit .218 against him this year.

Bassitt, like the other two on this list, will cost legit compensation. If the Halos can't acquire any more starters in free agency, however, they will have no choice but to go for one of these guys. If not, they risk wasting yet another year of the two best players in baseballs' primes.