Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Slugger Quickly Emerging As Offseason Trade Candidate

The Cardinals could make even more trades before opening day...
Zach Pressnell|
Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) celebrates a RBI single against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) celebrates a RBI single against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly entered quite a big rebuild this offseason. They opted to trade a handful of relief pitchers at the trade deadline last season, but their biggest moves have come this offseason.

The Cardinals opted to trade Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox to begin the offseason. A few weeks later, they opted to send Willson Contreras to the Red Sox in a separate deal. Later in the winter, Nolan Arenado was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

All in all, the Cardinals have added a lot of prospect talent to their farm system, but they could continue making trades this winter. Continuing their fire sale should bolster their farm system to one of the better units in the league.

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Just Baseball's Ryan Murphy recently suggested the Cardinals could look to trade slugger Alec Burleson as their next move toward their rebuild.

Cardinals' Alec Burleson makes a lot of sense as a trade candidate

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Alec Burleson
Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) hits a RBI single against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

"Among these players, there are a few who stand out above the rest," Murphy wrote. "In particular, Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan should command solid returns for the Cardinals.

"Burleson’s ascent was a bit more recent. After a few seasons of average play, Burleson went off for a 124 wRC+ with 18 home runs and .290/.343/.459 slash line in 2025. Burleson will also remain under contract until 2029. Given his breakout production and team control, the Cardinals would do well to sell high on him."

Burleson is one of the more underrated sluggers in the league. He was excellent last season, as he clubbed 18 home runs in less than 140 games.

There are plenty of teams that could look to add another slugger to their lineup. The Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners jump off the page as teams that could benefit from a trade for Burleson. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers also work as suitors if the Cardinals are looking to trade the slugger.

Either way, cutting ties with him will be the right decision if the Cardinals can land the right return.

More MLB: Cardinals Targeting All-Star Outfielder From Division Rival: Report

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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