Alec Burleson has put together the kind of season that forces people to stop and take notice.
After earning his first career Silver Slugger Award in 2025, Burleson has somehow climbed even higher in 2026 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
He’s leading the league with 111 RBIs and 37 doubles, and he’s added a career-best 23 home runs to go with those numbers. That production has landed him on a very small Cardinals list, one that usually belongs to the franchise’s biggest bats.
According to a note shared on X by Just Baseball, Burleson is only the sixth Cardinals player in the last 20 years to post a season with at least 20 home runs, 35 doubles and 110 RBIs. The others on that list are Albert Pujols in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Ryan Ludwick in 2008 and Paul Goldschmidt in 2022.
That’s the kind of company that says plenty on its own.
Burleson’s overall line shows just how complete the season has been: .284/.350/.471 with an .822 OPS, 23 homers, 111 RBIs, 37 doubles and 85 runs scored in 152 games. He has produced no matter where the Cardinals have put him, and 2026 has been his first season as the club’s full-time first baseman after the team traded Willson Contreras away.
The Cardinals have moved from Goldschmidt to Contreras to Burleson at first base, and the offensive results have only kept rolling. Burleson’s year has been a major reason why.
He’s also still only 27 and in his fifth big league season, which makes the performance even more impressive. Burleson is under team control through the 2028 season, and that gives St.
Louis a real opportunity to think about locking him up longer. JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker may draw the loudest buzz as the organization’s cornerstone names, but Burleson has done something this year that is not easy to replace.
He’s also become a meaningful voice in a very young clubhouse. With the Cardinals still working toward getting back into contention, Burleson looks like the kind of player they should be eager to keep around. Losing what might be their best overall hitter just as the club is trying to climb back would be a tough outcome to swallow.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Cleared The Way For A Third Base Battle
The Cardinals trimmed their infield picture by releasing Ramon Urias after he had been designated for assignment, a move that further reshapes the clubs options at third base heading into the offseason. Urias was limited to 43 games this season because of elbow injuries, and his time in St. Louis never really got on track offensively, as he hit .151 with four home runs in 100 plate appearances.
His departure leaves the Cardinals with a clearer runway to sort out the hot corner from within, and it adds another layer to a position that already figures to draw plenty of attention in camp. St. Louis has several internal candidates to consider, so the release does not settle the spot so much as it opens the door wider for a competition that will be worth watching when the roster starts taking shape for next season. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Lose Joshua Baez As Another Roster Shift Begins
Joshua Baezs season ended before it ever really got going in St. Louis, with the young outfielder landing on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain. The Cardinals have been juggling their roster as the year winds down, and this move fits into a larger stretch of housekeeping that also included the release of infielder Ramon Urias and the activation of JJ Wetherholt from the injured list.
Cesar Prieto has been brought up as part of the reshuffle, and the Cardinals now have two open spots on their 40-man roster as the offseason picture starts to take shape. With more changes expected to come, the Baez injury is only one piece of a broader roster reset that could continue to unfold in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Just Got A New Reason To Trust The Plan
Oliver Marmols upbeat view of the Cardinals direction adds another layer to a fan base that has spent the last stretch waiting for the club to get back to its standard. Even with the recent playoff absences hanging over the conversation, the message out of the dugout is that the organization believes it has a workable system and a clearer path forward than it did a year or two ago.
For Cardinals followers, the appeal is less about a quick fix than the sense that the front office is trying to assemble something sustainable. The longer view points toward a roster that could be in the postseason mix by 2027, which is still more projection than promise, but it is enough to keep the conversation centered on progress instead of frustration. [Read more 🡒]