Position of consistency may soon be a big question mark for Cardinals' future lineups

As organizations look to choose their path for their offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals are determined to commit to their rebuild under Chaim Bloom. While the Cardinals are looking to give major league playing time to their younger infielders, they still need to solve the inning deficit they face in the starting rotation. Beyond the pitching questions, the future Cardinals lineup may need to find their next first baseman.

The Cardinals minor league system is lacking first base prospect options

Currently, the Cardinals have Willson Contreras entrenched at first base after a successful move to the cold corner from behind the plate. His offense remained despite the position switch, and St. Louis has the former Cub under contract through 2027 season at a seemingly affordable $18 million per year. When Contreras needs a day off, the Cardinals have Alec Burleson as their backup first baseman, and he can handle the position well enough to not be a detriment to the team. For his work offensively while playing outfield and first, Burleson was just honored with the utility player Silver Slugger award.

Both Contreras and Burleson have been mentioned as trade candidates, but neither seems as likely to move organizations as some of their teammates. Contreras is unwilling to waive his no-trade clause and Burly is under contract through the 2029 season. However, despite that seemingly set position on the field, the Cardinals would do well to find their next first baseman. After being spoiled by Albert Pujols and Paul Goldschmidt for much of the 21st century, St. Louis is barren in the minor leagues if something were to go wrong either of their two preliminary options.

At Triple-A Memphis last season, the Redbirds trotted out a combination of Luken Baker (no longer with the organization), Matt Lloyd (intriguing but 29 years old), and Blaze Jordan, who was brought in at the trade deadline but not added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 deadline. It does not get much brighter for the champion Double-A Springfield Cardinals, as primary first baseman R.J. Yeager was released and Trey Paige is the only other first baseman currently on the roster after a mediocre 2025 season.

The Cardinals selected Jack Gurevitch in the third round of this year's draft, and he could very well be their next first base prospect. The lefty from San Diego will be 22 years old next season and played just 22 games at Single-A after being drafted. Gurevitch slots in as a top-20 prospect in the Cardinals organization but is potentially years away from making his mark at the major league level. The timeline could work out if everything goes well with the current configuration at first base, but that would involve Contreras remaining healthy and Burleson continuing to progress on both sides of the ball. By the time the Cardinals are looking to get back into playoff contention, it is possible that their first baseman of the future is somewhere outside of the organization at the time being.