When it comes to the St. Louis Cardinals, there's going to be trade speculation and rumors about dealing guys away until they take a significant turn in this rebuild and get back to contention.

Over the last few seasons, the buzz has been loud. Over the last year, we've seen Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Lars Nootbaar, Dustin May and JoJo Romero all exit the organization in various deals. So, it's not shocking that some have started speculating about various guys on the roster teams could be interested in, like shortstop Masyn Winn and first baseman Alec Burleson. Fortunately, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shut down the idea of either going.

"A source with one team aware of a conversation with the Cardinals said they quickly rejected an overture from a team wondering if they’d trade shortstop Masyn Winn. They had a similar stance with RBI leader Alec Burleson, who continues to draw interest," Goold wrote.

The Cardinals Are Making The Right Call

This is exactly how the Cardinals should handle Winn and Burleson.

Burleson was someone who was heavily discussed as a trade candidate ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, but St. Louis opted to hold onto him. He's the type of player who should be in line for a contract extension, rather than a trade. Burleson is 27 years old and has gotten better each season of his career, no matter what role the club has thrown him into. In 2026, he became the full-time first baseman. Before that, he was all over the place. No matter what, he has given the Cardinals a boost in the middle of the lineup. Also, let's not forget that he was a second-round pick in 2020. He's a homegrown success story and should be treated the same as JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker.

Burleson led the league with 116 RBIs in 2026 to go along with 26 long balls. He's just getting better.

When it comes to Winn, his upside is immense. Arguably, it was a bit of a shock that he didn't win the Gold Glove at shortstop this year. But he did win in 2025 and arguably is the best defensive shortstop in the National League. Winn is just 24 years old and is under team control through the 2029 season. The biggest knock on him has been his offense over the last two seasons. But it's still there. In 2024, he slashed .267/.314/.416 with 15 home runs, 57 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 150 games played. He took a step back offensively over the last two seasons, but dealt with injuries in both.

He's just 24 years old. You don't give up on 24-year-old shortstops who already have shown that they are elite in a facet of the game. Fortunately, the Cardinals aren't making that mistake.