Cardinals top 5 trade chips if they want to aggressively add to their roster

#1 - Alec Burleson

I do not want the Cardinals to trade Alec Burleson, but if they want to make a bigger swing at the deadline, it may be tough not to include him in a deal if so many other guys cannot be.

Burleson is finally showing why the Cardinals love his bat, slashing .309/.336/.455 with a 128 wRC+ in 45 games so far this year. Burleson is a gifted hitter from the left side and will be in this league for a long time because of that bat, which is why teams would be very interested in adding him to their lineup if they can.

The Cardinals already have a bunch of young bats they want to commit to in Winn, Nootbaar, Donovan, Walker, Gorman, and Herrera, as well as guys like Scott II and Saggese. This doesn't even mention their veterans like Contreras and Arenado or the fact that they'll at least have Goldschmidt for the remainder of the year. That is eleven different bats I have mentioned, which makes it difficult for all of them to find playing time.

That doesn't mean they should trade Burleson. If they can avoid it, they should. He's extremely valuable to their offense right now and could end up being their long-term first baseman. But, if they need to pick a guy to get a deal done, he may be the one they move.

At least it would be the first time in a while they traded an outfielder when their value was high. Typically the Cardinals hold on far too long, and then they have next-to-no value when they trade them, or they trade them before they break out.

Some of this conversation will depend on whether the other Cardinals bats continue to perform or not as well. But frankly, if the other bats go cold and they cannot afford to trade Burleson, they are probably selling anyway and wouldn't be moving him.

Again, let me be clear, I'm a big Burleson fan and don't think they should trade him, but if the right kind of deal is on the table to upgrade this team, he's a name I'd look out for to be a part of that deal.