5 Cardinals who could still be traded in the offseason

OF/1B Alec Burleson

If you don't trade O'Neill or Carlson. If you don't move Moises Gomez or Juan Yepez. That might leave Alec Burleson on the trading block. It's not that I don't believe that Yepez or Gomez couldn't get moved over Burleson, they could. But Burleson is 24 and won't even be arbitration eligible until 2027 and eligible for free agency until possibly 2030? That's control. That's enticing for any club. Even if that 24-year-old rookie has hit to the tune of a .243 batting average and only 8 home runs. He has plenty of upside.

Burleson also doesn't appear to look the most comfortable in the outfield either. He has a bit of a stockier build and isn't very fast. Though he could take to the position more naturally as the years go on and transform his body a la Matt Adams style, I see him as a first baseman long-term. One that could slot well after Goldschmidt potentially leaves after 2024?

So why would the Cardinals give up on a player so early and with as much control as Alec Burleson? Well, to get pitching of course. Again, they could move a Yepez or Gomez and get something for them, but both of them are slightly older than Burleson and probably wouldn't net the same return as the 2020 draftee would get due to his youth and upside.

I could see this as a trade that could reopen the scars of a Randy Arozarena or Adolis García trade where a young player goes to another organization and blossoms. That fear of past mistakes can't hamper your decisions or make you trigger-shy in the present if the right deal is on the table. I see this as the lowest possibility of the five players suggested to be traded, but I'd keep my notifications on this winter if I was Burleson.