5 Cardinals who are facing make-or-break seasons in 2025

I'm sure many of you are sick of hearing the word "reset" associated with the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether you agree with the strategy or not, or believe them when they say this isn't a rebuild, it's the direction they've chosen.

In doing so, the Cardinals have moved certain players (and coaches) into the spotlight and made them the focus of this season. While Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and other key veterans may have been the tone-setters in past seasons, now the young guys will be how the Cardinals determine success or failure in 2025.

While each of these names would have had pressure on them this coming year regardless of the direction the Cardinals' chose for themselves, the heat has really been cranked up by the front office in recent months. If things go well, then they'll likely be key contributors moving forward. But if there is further regression or a failure to bounce back from past woes, then they'll likely be moved on from or knocked multiple levels down the totem pole in St. Louis.

Here are five Cardinals who are facing make-or-break seasons in 2025

Alec Burleson

While Alec Burleson did break out in a big way in 2024, it was a tail of two halves for the now 26-year-old, and considering some of the changes the Cardinals have already made this offseason, Burleson's leash may be short for a player entering his third full big league season.

Let's take a quick look at the production breakdown Burleson had in the first half vs. the second half in 2024:

1st half (316 PA): .288/.320/.494, 17 HR, 53 RBI, .348 wOBA, 125 wRC+
2nd half (321 PA): .242/.306/.320, 4 HR, 25 RBI, .280 wOBA, 80 wRC+

Burleson looked like a force that had been finally unleashed in the first half. All of the excitement the Cardinals had about his batted ball data in the years leading up to 2024 was finally producing results. But then the second half came, and the same issues from before reared their ugly head, and Burleson went from being 25% above league average at the plate with legit power to 20% below league average and struggled to do damage.

If you asked anyone in July, Burleson felt like the obvious choice to man first base for the Cardinals in 2025. Now Willson Contreras has the position on lock, and while Burleson should see plenty of at-bats in 2025 mixed between the DH spot, corner outfield, and first base, his newly found everyday role could soon move back to a part-time or bench role if he's not careful.

Burleson is already a major platoon liability. In 2024, even when he was slugging against righties, he could not hit left-handed pitching to save his life. In 142 plate appearances last year against Southpaws, Burleson slashed .195.,229/.286 (43 wRC+). Compare that to his numbers against right-handed pitching (125 wRC+ on the season), and you see a guy who should solely start against right-handed pitching as things currently stand.

Here's the problem for Burleson though. While left-handed bats are always in high demand, the Cardinals have actually done a really nice job in recent years of collecting young lefties to populate their lineup. And while some of those bats have questions as well (more on that later), there's a world where Burleson could get squeezed out of their lineup against right-handed pitching by 2026 if he's not productive.

Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, and Brendan Donovan represent three left-handed bats already higher on the pecking order than Burleson. Victor Scott II or Michael Siani will mostly play center field, so that's another lefty there. Coming up through the system right now are bats like JJ Wetherholt, Chase Davis, and Jimmy Crooks III, and guess what? All three are left-handed bats.

Mix in the fact that Burleson lacks a true defensive home and is more of a liability than an asset in the outfield, his bat really has to play in 2025 if he's going to be a part of the core moving forward.