Cardinals fans hit with shocking Alec Burleson trade rumors

Pins and needles, that’s what everyone in St. Louis has been walking on since the trade deadline appeared on the horizon. And just as fans, front offices, and players brace for impact, the Cardinals were hit with another rumor surrounding slugger Alec Burleson. 

"Burly" has been the Cardinals’ most consistent bat all season. Just today in game two against the Blue Jays, he swatted two knocks on a 2/4 day, en route to another Redbird loss. 

On the season, Burleson holds a .282/.344/.459 slash line. His OPS sits at .803, good for an OPS+ of 126. 

From an underlying lens, Burleson becomes even more intriguing. 

His elite expected metrics, be it xBA, xwOBA, xSLG, or strikeout percentage, all point towards poor luck this season. 

In a year where Burly may be a dark-horse Silver Slugger candidate, pending any downtrodden second halves for other sluggers, he’s been one of baseball’s unluckiest hitters. 

Due to all of this, the on-field numbers, sabermetrics, and his great reputation around the league, other front offices have shown interest. According to THE MLB Insider, the Cardinals are fielding calls. 

Jeff Passan says the Cardinals are listening on Alec Burleson 

In a recent article on MLB Trade Rumors by Steve Austin, he wrote, “They have no shortage of players to peddle to other clubs, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan indicates that president of baseball ops Chaim Bloom isn’t likely to have many players wholly off limits…Beyond the list of usual suspects known to be available — Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek, Lars Nootbaar — the Cardinals are at least open to offers on first baseman Alec Burleson, per Passan.”

Once again, Passan is the bearer of bad news for the St. Louis faithful. 

Burleson isn’t just a fun player in The Lou, he’s a staple—one of the rare artifacts from past success that didn’t dwindle with time. 

Almost every player from the last season St. Louis made the playoffs (2022) is either off the roster or no longer a viable MLB option. Burleson, although not great that year, has stuck around—and he’s gotten better. 

In an unfortunate turn of events, the Cardinals have become one of the teams in MLB that scrambles to find homegrown talent. Burleson is just that, and the idea of trading him away isn’t just polarizing, it leaves fans feeling disrespected. 

The science behind it is viable. St. Louis isn’t currently in a position to compete, irrespective of what its record told you in the first half, and the timeline seems to hint towards 2028. 

Redbuilding around the likes of Wetherholt and Walker seems like the best bet for perennial competitiveness. 

Cardinals fans still seem stuck in the "Mozeliak mentality." What is that mentality? "If you just get in, anything can happen," or "We just need to give ourselves a chance!"

Year after year, success isn’t built by striving for mediocrity, and that was never Chaim Bloom’s plan. This season was always designated for scaffolding, not for viewing. 

How do you build a skyscraper? Not from the top. I assure you of that. 

One day, sooner than you think, Cardinal baseball will tower over its competition. There will be young talent galore, veterans to boot, and the right collection of players to win a World Series. 

Unfortunately, as it seems rumors have indicated, that may involve trading Burleson. 

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