The Cardinals can't afford to budge on their top 2 trade candidates

Even after two years of fire sales, the St. Louis Cardinals still have an occupied cupboard of talent at the major league level. But with no plans to seriously compete for a postseason berth in 2027, the Cardinals will need to make a decision on whether to stay or part with their most valuable assets. Bleacher Report threw out the names of two players whom they believe the Cardinals should consider trading, and while there may be strong arguments to unloading them for more minor league talent, St. Louis needs to stand firm with Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn.

Burleson led the major leagues with 116 RBIs in 2026, and several teams would understandably love to acquire his services. His contract expires after the 2028 season, so the Cardinals have a tough decision to make on whether to trade him after his best season, where his value is likely the highest it will ever be; to extend him now; or to go through arbitration and discuss an extension next year. The price of an extension would likely be significantly higher if they were to wait it out, though.

The Cardinals have plenty of money to throw around even after extending JJ Wetherholt, and Burleson should be near the top of their priority list. Bleacher Report's logic for letting Burleson walk was that they wouldn't be a contender in 2028. That may be underselling this plucky young squad, however.

St. Louis already managed to surprise onlookers by approaching .500 in a season where most expected them to be dismal, and if Jordan Walker's breakout was real and Wetherholt, Leo Bernal and Joshua Báez can build on their solid rookie campaigns, there's no reason to think the Cardinals won't improve further in 2027 and potentially make a postseason push in 2028.

Additionally, the Cardinals don't have a surefire replacement for Burleson at the cold corner if they were to deal him. Leo Bernal increasingly looks like the catcher of the future, and it's not clear whether Ivan Herrera or Rainiel Rodriguez could play there full time. Even if the could, they may not be able to measure up to Burleson's strong defense at the position.

At some point, the Cardinals need to have veterans who can lead the team to glory rather than serving as trade chips, and Burleson has the talent to become a player worth building a team around. But what about Masyn Winn, who doesn't possess anything close to Burleson's hitting chops?

The Cardinals must also stand pat with Masyn Winn

Winn is a superb defender at a premium position on the diamond. He already has one Gold Glove Award, and it's easy to make a case that he deserved a second one in 2026. But Bleacher Report's case for dealing Winn was that he "can't hit" and that the Cardinals should "take the W" if they can receive anything significant for him. His bat, however, has lagged over the past two seasons. In 2024, his first full season, Winn held a wRC+ of 103, meaning he was three points above league average at the plate. That number fell to 91 in 2025, and in 2026, it dropped all the way to 78.

President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has hinted that he may not be as gung-ho regarding defensive aptitude as manager Oli Marmol is, and with pitchers coming through the pipeline who exhibit strikeout stuff instead of focusing on contact, it does make some sense. If that's the case, trading Winn might be on the table.

Steamer, FanGraphs' projection system, believes Winn will rebound to some extent in 2027 and gave him a 95 wRC+. Many of his expected stats in 2026 were higher than his actual stats, so some course correction could result in a stronger offensive season. If the Cardinals believe he can do that, it's more than enough reason to keep him around. But even if he repeats his lackluster 2026 season at the dish, that shouldn't be the deal-breaker that many seem to think it is.

Winn's slash line in 2026 was .232/.308/.317, and if the Cardinals lineup is as robust by 2028 as it looks to be on paper, Winn could slot into the ninth spot in the batting order and be just fine there. Across the league in 2026, the average slash line for nine-hole hitters was .226/.292/.348, with a wRC+ of 78. That's the same wRC+ that Winn had last season. In other words, Winn is the perfect example of a player who can hit at the bottom of a lineup, and his elite defense separates him from most others in that pack, even if it isn't worth quite as much in the future as it is right now.

With this in mind, the Cardinals can't give up on Burleson or Winn this offseason, and although there's no telling what will happen two years down the road, St. Louis should tentatively plan to have both players on their roster come 2028 as well.

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