5 dream pitchers the Angels could target in the final hours of the MLB trade deadline

MLB Trade Deadline day is here, and the Los Angeles Angels should be very active. At 56-51 the Halos are just three games back of the final Wild Card spot in the AL and have even cut the AL West lead to 4.5 games.

The Angels have already traded two of their best prospects in Edgar Quero and Ky Bush and have moved a bunch of other pitching prospects to help them land players like Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Mike Moustakas, and Eduardo Escobar.

Despite some struggles offensively of late, pitching is the clear need for this Angels team on deadline day. Relief pitching should be priority one for Perry Minasian, and adding another starter wouldn't hurt either.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network said as of last night the Halos were looking to add at least one pitcher. It's unclear whether he meant starting pitching or relief pitching, but there're some intriguing targets for both. Acquiring any of these five is probably unrealistic, but would be awesome.

1) LA Angels dream trade deadline pitching target: Justin Verlander

All eyes are on the New York Mets and what they're going to do at the trade deadline. They've already moved expiring contracts like David Robertson and Mark Canha and are expected to move Tommy Pham as well. They also shocked the baseball world when they traded Max Scherzer to the Rangers in a move that will likely impact the Angels chances in a negative way.

Trading Scherzer away has led many to believe Justin Verlander is next up on the block. Verlander is a guy the Mets have been willing to field offers for, and if they're blown away, it's very possible he could be wearing a new jersey tomorrow. The Dodgers and Astros have been mentioned as frontrunners, but could the Angels be one of these mystery teams?

The Angels don't necessarily need a starting pitcher after acquiring Lucas Giolito, but you can never go wrong adding a future Hall of Famer to help lead your staff. After a rough start to his season, Verlander has a 1.49 ERA in his last seven starts. He might be older, but he's still one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The Mets willingness to eat a large portion of Verlander's contract would keep the Angels in the hunt to acquire him, but the Halos likely don't have the assets necessary. However, the GM of the Mets just so happens to be Billy Eppler who has his fingerprints over a good chunk of the Angels organization. If the Halos offer him a slew of players he likes would he be interested? Likely no, but one can dream.