3 free agents in the World Series the Cardinals should target during the offseason

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will go head-to-head in the World Series this year. Both teams are stocked with talented players, some of whom will be free agents at the end of the year.

While free agency spending won't take priority this offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals, the DeWitt family made it clear that they would provide the financial resources that Chaim Bloom needs to build a competitive team and beef up the player development system in the minor leagues. It's likely that the Cardinals will spend more in free agency this year than the meager $2 million they spent last winter.

The Cardinals will likely need at least one starting pitcher or swingman in free agency this winter to go along with a reliever or two. They could also fill bench roles given the lack of high-end talent in the minors. St. Louis relied on an unreliable collection of players like Garrett Hampson, Ryan Vilade, and Jose Barrero as role players. Chaim Bloom may want to find more reliable players to fill in the final spot or two on the 26-man roster next year to raise the floor of his team.

Chaim Bloom and the St. Louis Cardinals should target these 3 players who are in the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Toronto Blue Jays.

RHP Max Scherzer

Let's start off strong here with Max Scherzer.

The Cardinals could have signed Scherzer, a St. Louis native, two different times over the last decade or so, but they opted to instead hold onto their money and spend in other ways despite Scherzer being a good fit for the team. They'll have one more chance to bring in the Mizzou alumnus.

Scherzer, who is now 41, is still pitching well even at an advanced age. His current contract with the Blue Jays is paying him $15.5 million. According to Spotrac, Scherzer is valued at $9 million on a one-year deal for next year. That's not a negligible amount of money for a pitcher who will turn 42 during the year, but Mad Max is defying Father Time in a way.

Scherzer went 5-5 this year with a 5.19 ERA across 17 starts and 85 innings; he struck out 82 batters and walked 23. His fastball velocity rebounded slightly from his career-low average of 92.5 MPH last year to 93.6 MPH, but it's still in the 37th percentile in baseball. While he's certainly not the overpowering pitcher he once was, Max is still able to use guile and craftiness to get batters out.

Scherzer has been beneficial for the Blue Jays this postseason. In his lone appearance in the playoffs this year, Scherzer went 5.2 innings, allowing only two runs and striking out five batters. He went viral for his animated reaction to manager John Schneider attempting to pull him from the game early.

Max Scherzer would be a huge asset for the Cardinals as they could potentially roll out a starting rotation next year that will feature mostly young players like Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and possibly even Quinn Mathews. The veteran leadership and experience that Scherzer would provide in that rotation would be beneficial for the club's young starters, especially if Sonny Gray is traded this offseason. Scherzer's approximate $10 million contract won't break the bank either.