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3 trade targets for the Angels to start scouting if the Cardinals continue to tank

By Zachary Rotman |
St. Louis Cardinals v Los Angeles Dodgers
St. Louis Cardinals v Los Angeles Dodgers / Katelyn Mulcahy/GettyImages
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The St. Louis Cardinals are a mess. That's something the Los Angeles Angels saw firsthand last week. The Angels swept their three-game series in St. Louis, winning each game in different ways. We saw them score runs, we saw them pitch well, and we saw them win a game late. The Angels caused the diehard fans at Busch Stadium to boo their own team, something you rarely see there.

The Cards won yesterday but had lost eight in a row before that. They now sit at 11-24 this season and have the worst record in the National League. They made the decision to move Willson Contreras away from behind the dish and make him their full-time DH for reasons I cannot comprehend.

The Cardinals are a team stockpiled with talent and just haven't played well. They're one year removed from a 93-win season and an NL Central division title. Assuming the Cardinals don't go on an insane run to catapult them back into postseason contention, the Angels should be doing their homework to see if a deal can be made closer to this year's trade deadline. These three players could be good fits.

1) LA Angels trade target on the Cardinals: Jordan Montgomery

The Cardinals made an interesting trade at last season's trade deadline sending Harrison Bader to the Yankees in exchange for Jordan Montgomery. The Cards have a ton of outfielders so this deal made sense from their perspective, and Montgomery has been even better than expected.

Last season, he had a 3.11 ERA in 11 starts for the Cardinals. He helped them catch and pass the Brewers to win the NL Central.

This season, the Cardinals pitching is a mess, but Montgomery has been the one bright spot. He has a 3.29 ERA in his first seven starts of the season to go along with a 2.87 FIP. He's not an ace, but the Angels don't need an ace. He's a guy who can give you six quality innings per start, something the Angels desperately need.

Montgomery has gone at least five innings in all but one of his starts. He's gone at least six innings in all but two of his starts. He's allowed three runs or fewer in all but one of his starts, and two runs or fewer in all but two. Bottom line, most of the time, he's money.

With Montgomery being a free agent at the end of the year, it'd behoove the Cardinals to move on and get compensation for him if indeed they remain out of contention.

2) LA Angels trade target on the Cardinals: Giovanny Gallegos

With Jose Quijada out for the season, the Angels lost one of their high-leverage arms. While I love what Matt Moore and Carlos Estevez have done, those guys are the only players I really trust right now late in games.

Adding a proven late-game arm like Giovanny Gallegos could help the Angels in a big way late in games. They'll have three arms to choose between and won't have to overwork Estevez and Moore.

Gallegos has experience in just about every role. He's saved 14 games in each of the last two seasons. He's also worked in the seventh and eighth innings for St. Louis. With Ryan Helsley struggling Gallegos has been in the closer role for the Cardinals lately. He blew the save against the Angels, but other than that has been solid this season and for most of his career.

The Angels bullpen has looked good but it's still hard to see who else other than Moore or Estevez Phil Nevin should turn to late in a close game. Andrew Wantz? Ryan Tepera? I'm really not fully sold on anyone and think an external addition would be beneficial.

You can never have enough quality bullpen arms. Gallegos has another year of control at a very reasonable $5.75 million. The Cardinals don't have to trade him but could do so.

3) LA Angels trade target on the Cardinals: Jack Flaherty

Back in 2019, Jack Flaherty broke out and looked like a future star for the Cardinals. In his 33 starts that season, the right-hander posted a 2.75 ERA and led the league in WHIP. He finished fourth in the NL Cy Young balloting and 13th in the NL MVP race. He was looking like the future ace of that staff.

In the next three seasons following his outstanding 2019 campaign, Flaherty made just 35 appearances (32 starts) for St. Louis because of a bevy of injuries. He was still a decent pitcher as he had a 3.90 ERA in those appearances, but looked nothing like the pitcher he once looked like he'd be.

After making just nine appearances for St. Louis last season, Flaherty was finally healthy entering this season. His season couldn't have gotten off to a weirder start than it did. In five innings against the Blue Jays, he did not allow a single hit but he walked seven batters. One of the oddest things I've ever seen.

Command has been a problem for Flaherty, as has consistency. He's had some good starts, and he's had some awful ones, like the one we saw him make against the Angels. Flaherty allowed ten runs while recording just seven outs. This caused his ERA to jump all the way up to 6.29. The crazy thing is, a 6.29 ERA is still over three runs better than Jose Suarez!

The Angels desperately need help at the back of their rotation, and the SoCal kid could provide that. He's not an ace, but I do like his upside. Most of the time he'll give you five or six innings and keep you in a ballgame. The Halos simply haven't gotten that consistently out of most of their rotation this season.

He's on an expiring deal so if it doesn't work out, they can let him go. If he does pitch well, maybe they found something. A change of scenery back home could help him. He's not as good as Montgomery, but he can help.

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