5 St. Louis Cardinals players who won’t be on the roster next season

5) Alec Burleson will not be on the Cardinals roster next season

Another member of the Cardinals outfield logjam is Alec Burleson who figures to not have much of a role with the team unless they free up multiple outfield slots which appears unlikely. Burleson is a corner outfielder who can also play first base, but first base of course is occupied by reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt.

The 24-year-old is a player the Cardinals are excited about and it's easy to see why. Last season with AAA Memphis he had a .905 OPS and hit 20 home runs with 87 RBI. The season prior he hit 22 home runs. There's a chance he can be a really solid hitter if he can get consistent playing time but in the 97 games and 314 plate appearances he's compiled this season in the majors, things haven't been as great.

Burleson is slashing .245/.297/.399 with eight home runs and 33 RBI. He does have 18 doubles which is a decent mark for a guy who has played fewer than 100 games, but he has a below-average WRC+ of 90, and has been worth -0.9 fWAR thanks to some subpar defense in the outfield.

If the Cardinals want to win in 2024, it's hard to envision Burleson playing a huge role considering he hasn't swung a great bat in a fairly large sample this season and is bad defensively. With Burleson being so young with a ton of team control, a team could look to acquire him in a deal that gives St. Louis a starting pitcher to help them win now.