Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Homers in loss to Boston
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Red Sox.
In the bottom of the eighth, Burleson barreled a 430-foot homer to dead center that left the bat at 111.6 mph. It snapped a 13-game homerless drought for Burleson, who is now slashing .259/.379/.407 with two homers, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, one stolen base and an 11:5 BB:K across 66 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Getting first day off
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Burleson isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Burleson will step out of the lineup for the first time this year after going 0-for-5 with a strikeout in Friday's series opener. His absence will open up first base for Ramon Urias.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Tallies season-high three RBI
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Burleson went 3-for-4 with a three RBI, a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.
It was the second three-hit effort of the season already for Burleson, who recorded a season-high three RBI. With Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado all with new clubs for 2026, Burleson has hit third in the lineup in each of St. Louis' first 12 games. Overall, he is batting .273 with one homer, two doubles, 10 RBI and one stolen base over 44 at-bats.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Homers in three-hit effort
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Burleson went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Thursday's 9-7 win over the Rays.
The Cardinals lost several key hitters this offseason, as Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado have all gone elsewhere, but Burleson opened the season as St. Louis' No. 3 hitter and should maintain strong RBI upside from this spot. The 27-year-old hit a career-high .290 with 18 homers, 26 doubles and 69 RBI over 497 regular-season at-bats a year ago, and he's off to a fast start in 2026 with his Opening Day long ball.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Reaches deal with St. Louis
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The Cardinals and Burleson avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.3 million contract Thursday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Burleson receives a well-earned raise in what was his first year of arbitration eligibility. The 27-year-old has made a steady progression offensively for the Cardinals, finishing the 2025 campaign with a .290/.343/.459 batting line and 18 home runs. Burleson is slated to take over as the everyday first baseman in 2026 after spending most of his first four seasons playing the outfield.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Shifting to first base
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Burleson will become the Cardinals' everyday first baseman in 2026 following the trade of Willson Contreras (shoulder) to the Red Sox, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Burleson has primarily played the outfield in pro ball, but he has ample experience at first base, as well, having made 38 starts there during the 2025 season. The 27-year-old will have dual eligibility in fantasy leagues in 2026, but it's unclear whether he will see enough action in the outfield to retain eligibility there heading into 2027. The left-handed-hitting Burleson greatly improved versus left-handed pitching in 2025 -- slashing an adequate .271/.310/.398 -- and the Cardinals intend to give him everyday reps in 2026 rather than saddling him with a platoon partner.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting Sunday
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
Burleson's streak of 17 consecutive starts comes to an end in Game 162, as he gets the day off in a meaningless contest for the Cardinals. Yohel Pozo will handle first base.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Set for Monday return
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Burleson (wrist) is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Mariners, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Burleson will make his return to the Cardinals without going out on a rehab assignment beforehand. The 26-year-old slashed .286/.337/.451 with 16 home runs and five stolen bases across 470 plate appearances before being deactivated Aug. 29 due to right wrist inflammation.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Aiming to return for SEA series
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Burleson (wrist) is slated to return from the 10-day injured list at some point during the Cardinals' three-game road series against the Mariners starting Monday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Burleson is rehabbing from right wrist inflammation that caused him to be placed on the 10-day IL in late August. He's increased his baseball activities over the past few days, and it appears the 26-year-old outfielder will not need a rehab assignment and join the Cardinals in Seattle early next week.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Heading to IL with sore wrist
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The Cardinals will place Burleson (wrist) on the 10-day injured list prior to Friday's game in Cincinnati, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Burleson missed one game last week with a right wrist injury and had to be pulled early from Thursday's contest after the issue flared up on him again. He will be eligible for activation Sept. 8, but it's unclear whether he'll be ready to go on that date. The Cardinals will roll with Lars Nootbaar, Nathan Church and Jordan Walker as their primary outfielders for now, though Victor Scott (ankle) should be back next week to displace Church from that group.
Burleson had to be removed from Thursday's game against the Pirates after the seventh inning due to nagging soreness in his right wrist, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Burleson had to miss a game last week due to his wrist, and it flared up on him again Thursday. The Cardinals are expected to promote both Jimmy Crooks and Cesar Prieto from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, and Burleson going on the 10-day injured list is one of the possible corresponding transactions.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Back in action Sunday
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Burleson (wrist) will start in left field and bat third Sunday against the Rays, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The 26-year-old sat out Friday's 10-6 loss due to wrist irritation, but he's ready to go after Saturday's team off day. In his past 10 games, Burleson has a .333/.364/.476 slash line with a home run, a triple, a double and eight RBI.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Swipes bag in multi-hit game
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Monday's 3-2 win over Colorado.
Monday marked Burleson's third multi-hit game over his last five outings, and the steal was his first since July 13 versus Atlanta. He's slashing .289/.344/.491 with 14 home runs, 16 doubles and 46 RBI over 318 plate appearances since the start of May, and the lefty-hitting Burleson should continue to see most of his power production come versus right-handed pitching. He's slugging just .366 versus lefties as opposed to .469 against righties in 2025.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting out Tuesday
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Burleson (foot) isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.
Burleson will require an extra day of recovery after he fouled a ball off his right foot during Monday's contest. Jordan Walker will pick up a start in right field as a result and bat seventh.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Diagnosed with foot contusion
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Burleson left Monday's game against the Rockies with a bruise on the top of his right foot, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Burleson was sent for imaging following his departure from the contest, and it was reported after the game that X-rays returned negative. The team is considering him day-to-day moving forward, per Woo.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Getting day off
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Burleson will get his first day off since June 6, breaking a stretch of 21 consecutive starts for the 26-year-old. Though he'll be taking a seat against lefty Logan Allen, Burleson hasn't been treated as a pure platoon player of late, as he had started in each of the Cardinals' last seven matchups with southpaw starters. Garrett Hampson will cover right field Sunday.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Socks homer No. 10
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's 5-0 win over the Guardians.
The 26-year-old took Luis L. Ortiz deep in the third inning, giving Sonny Gray more than enough run support as the right-hander faced one batter over the minimum in his fifth career shutout. Burleson is putting the finishing touches on a dazzling June that has seen him slash .337/.354/.598 with six of his 10 homers on the season, as well as 13 runs and 19 RBI in 24 contests.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Goes deep in three-hit attack
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Burleson went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 10-7 loss to Kansas City.
It was Burleson's first three-hit effort since May 14, and he also ended a 10-game homerless dry spell. The 26-year-old slugger is still tearing the cover off the ball of late, as he's batting .338 with five home runs, four doubles and 12 RBI over his last 21 outings (68 at-bats). The lefty-hitting Burleson has worked as one of St. Louis' top designated hitters versus right-handed pitching, but he's taken just 14 at-bats against southpaws on the campaign.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Continues to heat up in win
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Burleson went 1-for-3 with a two-run double in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Pirates.
After getting off to a very quiet start to the campaign, Burleson is starting to get back on track at the plate recently. The slugging first baseman is now riding a five-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .263 (5-for-19) with two home runs, one double and five RBI. The lefty-hitting Burleson should remain on the strong side of a platoon with Luken Baker going forward.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Hits first homer of season
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Burleson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 5-4 win over the Mets in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.
Burleson opened the scoring with his blast off Tylor Megill in the second inning. Burleson sat for four straight games from April 25-28, but he's been a regular in the lineup versus right-handed pitchers since that stretch. He still needs to make some improvements with the bat -- he was limited to one hit in both games of Sunday's doubleheader and has gone seven contests without a multi-hit effort. He's at a .255/.305/.316 slash line, one homer, eight RBI, nine runs scored and two stolen bases over 105 plate appearances. There's more power in Burleson's bat, as he hit 21 homers over 152 games in 2024.
