Angels Trade Rumors: Could John Lackey Help Halos?

The Angels have piecemealed together a six man pitching rotation that has gotten better results than initially imagined. Tonight in Arkansas, C.J. Wilson allowed two runs of a minor league injury rehabilitation game, pitching into the sixth inning for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.

It should not be lost on us that Wilson was shipped to Little Rock's Dickey Stephens Park, the most pitcher-friendly park in all of professional baseball, as the first ever Halo minor league rehab in the fourteen seasons that the Travs have been affiliated with the big club.

A hurt CJ has not cost the Angels much in the short run and he appeared healthy in the game, but with Tyler Skaggs sporting an ERA+ below 90, a picher by the name of John Lackey sees his 108 ERA+ this year seeming downright respectable, desirable and perhaps even attainable.

The Mouth-Breathing HorseFace Cowboys fan himself, John Lackey has a major league minimum salary next season (due to an accurate Theo Epstein call that he would miss a target numbr of innings during his Boston tenure, which he did by missing all of 2012 with Tommy John surgery). No pitcher on earth would need an adjustment to Anaheim less than Bendedict Arnold Lackey, for whom all would be forgiven were he to bolster the starting rotation to make a playoff run.

With Lackey on board, Skaggs can spend August in AAA and rejoin the big club in September. A rotation of Jered Weaver, Garrett Richards, Wilson, Lackey, Matt Shoemaker with Hector Santiago in the pen would be formidable with Hector ready to take over in case of injury and Skaggs free to move about the country in Salt Lake - just a quick Southwest flight away.

The Angels have zero starting pitching depth after what is mentioned above and need to shore this up ASAP. They showed with the Huston Street trade that they are in the WIN-NOW mode and I for one would like to get a ring before World War Three starts (assuming it holds off until after October). So... what would it take to get Lackey from the Chowds? Maybe Cam Bedrosian and Mark Sappington. Throw in a fading Kaleb Cowart and call it a deal.

What say you? More farm for the redemption and pennant race guidance of Benedict Arnold?