After raising my car on a lift I noticed the.

Absolutely. The ball joints and tie rod ends hold the wheel in proper alignment. Turning the wheel left or right, or in or out on top as little as 1/16" can have a major affect on tire wear. A wheel that moves around will adversely affect handling and braking for a little while, until the worn part separates leading to loss of control and a crash. It's good that you found that now before something does break. If you can't figure out which is the offending part, have the car inspected at a tire and alignment shop.