The Athletic suggests the Angels go Black Friday shopping for a familiar face

Black Friday is a time when shoppers look to find the best deals out there. Everyone knows the big prize this offseason is Shohei Ohtani, but there are always bargains that can be found. The Los Angeles Angels showed us that last offseason.

Deals that they gave to players like Brandon Drury and Matt Moore turned out to be outstanding. Some other deals they've given in recent years haven't quite aged as well.

This offseason, the Angels will look to make smart purchases. They might even make one on Black Friday. Andy McCullough of The Athletic (subscription required) links the Angels to a potentially smart purchase. He comes up with one Black Friday free agent deal for every MLB team. His choice for the Angels is a player Angels fans are very familiar with. Frankie Montas.

Frankie Montas makes sense as a buy-low addition for this LA Angels rotation

After being acquired from the Dodgers at the 2016 trade deadline, Frankie Montas spent parts of six seasons in an Oakland Athletics uniform. In that time he developed from a reliever to the ace of their staff. His best season came in 2021, when he posted a 3.37 ERA in 32 starts and 187 innings pitched. He finished sixth in the AL Cy Young balloting that year.

Montas was on a similar trajectory to begin his 2022 season, posting a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts before being traded to the Yankees at the trade deadline. His Yankees stint did not go as planned whatsoever, as he made just nine appearances overall in a season and a half. He recorded just four outs this past season, and his appearance came in Game 161. He missed most of the year due to a shoulder injury.

At just 30 years old and not far off from being considered one of the better starters in the American League. He's always pitched well against the Angels, posting a 2.59 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts). He's been even better against them at Angel Stadium, posting a 2.00 ERA in seven appearances (six starts).

Obviously, the ideal scenario this offseason is for the Angels to land a true frontline starter to help fortify this rotation. If they strike out on the big names, signing a guy like Montas to a one-year deal and hoping he can stay healthy wouldn't be a bad move at all. At least he should be better than Tyler Anderson.