The Cardinals already made their position clear on Alec Burleson. When teams called about him and Masyn Winn, St.
Louis shut the conversation down fast, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
That makes sense. Both players fit into what the Cardinals are trying to build, and both look like central pieces of the club’s next wave.
For Burleson, though, the bigger conversation isn’t a trade. It’s an extension.
Friday offered a useful benchmark. Jake Bauers, who was the NLCS MVP and played a key role in the Milwaukee Brewers winning the World Series, agreed to a four-year, $58 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.
That kind of contract gives a pretty good sense of the range St. Louis could be looking at if it wants to keep Burleson around long term.
Burleson is already under contract through the 2028 season, so the Cardinals do have time. But he’s also 27 years old now, and if St.
Louis wants to get ahead of the market, this is the moment to do it. Wait too long, and the price only goes up.
The numbers back up why he matters so much. Burleson led all of Major League Baseball with 116 RBI in the regular season and finished with a .279/.343/.473 slash line, 26 home runs, a 3.7 WAR and an .816 OPS.
He has the first base job in St. Louis locked down, and there isn’t much doubt he’s their best option there.
That’s why an extension feels like the cleanest move. It would give the Cardinals one of their core bats on a deal that could still make sense, while also taking any trade chatter off the table for the foreseeable future. It could also spare them from having to pay more later if they decide to wait.
At some point, St. Louis has to start securing the players it plans to build around. Burleson looks like one of those guys, and something in the neighborhood of what Bauers just got is a reasonable place to start.
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Cardinals Prospect Tai Peete Is Forcing A Bigger Outfield Conversation
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The broader conversation now is less about whether Peete belongs on the radar and more about how quickly he can force his way into the clubs future plans. His combination of power, speed and steady offensive growth has made him a player worth watching closely, especially for a team that could use clarity in center field down the road. [Read more 🡒]