5 players from the Angels that are a perfect fit for the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to secure a National League Wild Card berth and are built to continue making a run for it. As one of the best teams since the month of May, they cannot settle with where the team is at currently. Every contender will always look to improve and with the trade deadline approaching, time is running out for teams to make necessary moves.

The Cardinals have several needs in order to build a sustainable roster to make it to October baseball. A starting pitcher, a right-handed hitting outfielder, and bullpen depth are all glaring needs to balance the current team. Luckily for St. Louis, they can accomplish all of this with the Los Angeles Angels.

Here are five players the Cardinals need to inquire about to start improving their roster.

1. Taylor Ward

The biggest trade piece for the Angels is Taylor Ward. With many teams looking for offensive improvements, Ward will be sought after and should hold a competitive market. Ward is slashing .235/.320/.413/.733 (104 OPS+) with 16 2B, 14 HR, and 44 RBI in 89 games played. He can play any outfield position and has a history of playing the corner infield spots. He is playing within his career normal statistics where he holds a 108 OPS+ over seven seasons.

He is not as dominant in the field as many of the Cardinals players, but he is serviceable. His flashes of power from the right-hand side is more attractive to the Cardinals than their surplus of defensive outfielders who only show production from the left side of the plate. The Cardinals might not want to jump into the competitive market for him come the deadline, but the options is still there if they decide to entertain it.