4 Cardinals players who lost their roster spot this offseason

With offseason acquisitions and signings, several players who were on the St. Louis Cardinals' 2023 roster may have lost their spots this year.
St. Louis Cardinals v San Diego Padres
St. Louis Cardinals v San Diego Padres / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages
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Alec Burleson

Alec Burleson saw 315 at-bats last year for the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished with a .244/.300/.391 slash line and an OPS+ of just 87. Burleson is still young at twenty-five, so he has plenty of time to improve. Defensively, he has above-average arm strength, but he was a negative defender in right field (-2 Outs Above Average), left field (-5 Outs Above Average), and first base (-2 Outs Above Average).

John Mozeliak has recently stated that Dylan Carlson will be the team's fourth outfielder next year. He also mentioned Richie Palacios, Brendan Donovan, and even Victor Scott II as players who could see innings next year.

While Alec Burleson was mentioned with that collection of outfielders, it doesn't seem likely that he will see as many at-bats next year as he did this year. Burly would have to put on quite the show this Spring Training to move up the depth chart.

While I don't see Alec Burleson getting designated for assignment or rotting away in AAA, I could see him being a part of a trade package either this offseason or during next year's Trade Deadline. He showed decent power in the minors (twenty home runs in 470 plate appearances in 2022 for Memphis), but that hasn't translated to the majors yet.

Depth is always nice for a team, but Alec Burleson is likely the odd man out in a still-crowded St. Louis outfield. Injuries or trades, likely of Tommy Edman or Dylan Carlson, would carve the most direct route for Burleson to see a decent amount of innings next year.

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