Is top LA Angels trade target from offseason still available for the taking?

The LA Angels "had conversations with Oakland about Frankie Montas" early in the offseason, according to CBS Sports MLB Insider Jim Bowden. They never ended up pulling off a deal for him, though, despite the A's being heavily rumored to move off of him. Instead, they chose to trade Sean Manaea after they moved Chris Bassitt.

After they went the whole offseason without moving him, it appeared that he was of course just to stay an Athletic. There were recently rumors, however, that suggested he was perhaps going to be sent to the Chicago White Sox.New York Post MLB Insider Jon Heyman, however, refutes that there was really much traction there.

Heyman says that these reports of the Sox being involved in trade discussions were "exaggerated." He says that while they tried to trade for Manaea, his sources told him that the "ship has sailed" when it comes to a trade between the White Sox and A's for Manaea.

Therefore, if the White Sox are the only team reported to be talking to Chi Town about Montas, and that's not going to happen, are the A's really interested in moving off of Montas? Well, Heyman says that "realistically, the A’s would require a haul for Montas."

He pointed out that that's potentially what held the White Sox back, citing a source saying that since the South Siders didn't have enough of a haul to land Manaea, they were probably not going to be able to land Montas.

This is likely bad news for the LA Angels if they still want to trade for Frankie Montas.

The LA Angels likely don't have the trade bait to make a swap for Frankie Montas. They probably won't be as willing to trade Brandon Marsh or Jo Adell right now, as Justin Upton is no longer here to provide that extra body. If they trade one of them, they'll have a gaping hole in the outfield.

They also don't have many prospects to send over. Clearly, Heyman's news suggests that the A's need quite a bit of compensation for the promising right-hander. The Halos only have a couple of prospects who will be of interest anyways, and one of them is currently in the starting rotation in Detmers. Trading him isn't even an option at this point.

Montas has pitched twice so far this season, looking terrible in his first start (5 IP/5 ER) and excellent in his second (6.1 IP/1 ER). He'll likely have another good year after his career season in 2021. The issue is that that's a reality that makes him hard for the Halos to afford if they want to kick the tires on a trade for him again.