MLB Trade Rumors pegs LA Angels rival pitcher as possible target

MLB Trade Rumors just released their '14 Likeliest Trade Candidates After the Lockout' piece, and included the LA Angels as a great landing spot for their No. 3 candidate Sean Manaea.

The Angels have been linked to multiple high-impact Oakland A's starters this offseason, but Manaea isn't one they've reportedly talked to the Athletics about. The two that Jim Bowden reported that the Angels had talked to Oakland about were Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas. Both would be huge additions, but so would Manaea.

Manaea is a career 3.86 ERA pitcher with a 50-41 W-L record and a 1.204 WHIP. He'd be the No. 3 starter on the Angels due to his experience and rediscovered durability that he's shown these past two seasons.

Sean Manaea would be a massive upgrade for the LA Angels.

There's no question surrounding whether the LA Angels would want to make a deal for Sean Manaea or not. The question would be how much the Angels would want to give up. The good thing for the Halos is that it seems like the A's are likely going to sell nearly the whole team this offseason!

Heck, in the MLB Trade Rumors article, the first five candidates were all A's, and the piece didn't even include Montas. Therefore, these players don't have high trade values. The team needs to get rid of them.

If the Angels can snag Manaea without giving up Brandon Marsh or Jo Adell, then we likely win the trade. We also get to take one of our rivals' best pitchers, which is a major plus attached to the benefits that come from this trade. If we acquire Manaea, we're looking at this rotation:

1. Shohei Ohtani

2. Noah Syndergaard

3. Sean Manaea

4. Patrick Sandoval

5. Jose Suarez

6. Michael Lorenzen

That's not bad, and we could absolutely find our way to the playoffs with that considering we know we already have one of the best lineups in the AL. Add one or two more impact bullpen pieces, and I like our chances of competing in 2022.