Cardinals Versatile Outfielder Listed As Possible Offseason Trade Candidate

This Cardinals slugger could be a trade candidate in the winter.

Jul 28, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Alec Burleson (41) celebrates with manager Oliver Marmol (37) after hitting a solo home run against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals made three trades before the deadline this week, sending off relievers Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz and Phil Maton as part of a deadline sale. St. Louis didn't do anything more than that.

According to John Mozeliak, they received a lot of interest in their left-handed bats, including Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson, but were not compelled by any of the offers. Thus, Chaim Bloom will have a logjam to clear out when he takes over for Mozeliak.

Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants listed Burleson as somebody who could be an offseason trade candidate.

"Trading Alec Burleson at the deadline would have been a clear opportunity to capitalize on his value. He's young (26), having a strong year offensively, and under ample team control. (He's not a free agent until 2029.) All of these reasons to trade Burly are the same ones the front office will use to keep him on the roster for the future," Gauvain wrote.

While Burleson is a key piece of the Cardinals young core, he also could generate interest in the offseason. The Cardinals farm system is short on starting pitching, and a trade of Burleson could help them potentially bring back some upper minor-league rotation arms that could fill out the Triple-A rotation and be ready to go in the event of an injury on the Major League roster.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals go about clearing out their logjam of lefty hitters.

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