Last offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals ripped the Band-Aid off and traded Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras away. The trend continued into the summer when JoJo Romero, Lars Nootbaar and Dustin May were also dealt.

That's a lot of talent out the door, but it was positive for the organization. St. Louis restocked the farm system and gave young guys throughout the roster extended opportunities to show what they can do in the majors. The Cardinals have a bright future. Heading into the 2027 season, St. Louis should stray away from this idea of extended looks for young guys, but the club also shouldn't take a major step back and trade their top guys again. For example, Alec Burleson should be a member of the 2027 Cardinals and beyond.

This offseason, there have already been some rumors and speculation flying around about the idea of Burleson being someone teams want, including the New York Mets. That shouldn't shock anyone. This is a guy coming off a season in which he hit 26 home runs, drove in 116 runs, racked up 37 doubles and slashed .279/.343/.473. Any team would be lucky to have him.

The Cardinals Should Ignore The Trade Buzz

Despite interest out there, arguably it would be a step backwards to trade Burleson right now. Last offseason, the Cardinals made it clear right away that they were going to be trading pieces away. Now, it's a year later and the Cardinals theoretically should be closer to getting themselves back to the playoffs. St. Louis has missed the playoffs in four straight seasons. If the front office turned around and dealt Burleson away, it would be a step in the wrong direction. If you trade one of your top overall bats now, it's a sign that the fanbase likely has to wait a long time before contention again, which wouldn't be great for morale.

Plus, there isn't an option to replace Burleson's production yet. Blaze Jordan can play some first base, but he's not Burleson yet. Eventually, Rainiel Rodriguez could help, but he's 19 years old. There isn't a clear-cut, one-to-one replacement for the club right now.

Burleson has been around St. Louis for a long time at this point and yet he is still just 27 years old. He's someone who could be a part of the long-term core, rather than someone to just deal right now. Burleson has two seasons of team control left. He has also made been clear about the fact that he's open to an extension with the organization.

There's always going to be chatter and speculation, but the Cardinals should simply ignore it this offseason when it comes to Burleson. He's a key cog for the organization and should be in town for the long haul, not traded away this offseason for some sort of package of prospects.