4 Cardinals players who could be traded before Opening Day

3. Alec Burleson has no role on this Cardinals team

Alec Burleson is just one of many talented outfielders that the Cardinals have in their organization. The glut of outfielders is not a new issue the Cardinals have had. They finally traded one of them, Tyler O'Neill, to the Red Sox, but still have Burelson who has no role as of now.

The 25-year-old can play both corner outfield positions as well as first base, but those spots are occupied by Nootbaar, Walker, and Paul Goldschmidt. If you're wondering about DH, one of Nolan Gorman or Brendan Donovan figures to have that spot locked in. So, Burelson is just a fifth outfielder or a Goldschmidt (who rarely rests) backup option.

While Burelson hasn't done much offensively at the MLB level, he displayed lots of power in the minors, hitting 20+ home runs in 2021 and 2022, the only seasons in which he saw substantial time in the minor leagues.

A 25-year-old with obvious power and a ton of team control can have a lot of value on the trade market. Using him to upgrade the roster makes a lot of sense.