Cardinals Rumors: Burleson, Crooks, Romero

The Cardinals’ skid coming out of the All-Star break has dropped them below .500 and cemented them as sellers. They have no shortage of players to peddle to other clubs, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan indicates that president of baseball ops Chaim Bloom isn’t likely to have many players wholly off limits. Recently extended infielder and Rookie of the Year candidate JJ Wetherholt obviously isn’t going anywhere, and the Cardinals aren’t moving Home Run Derby champ Jordan Walker now that he’s finally enjoying a breakout performance. Beyond the list of usual suspects known to be available — Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek, Lars Nootbaar — the Cardinals are at least open to offers on first baseman Alec Burleson, per Passan. Burleson’s name hasn’t come up as often as his teammates, but he’s a pretty sensible trade candidate for a team that’s turning the page on 2026. The 27-year-old slugger is making $3.3MM this season and will be owed two more raises in arbitration before becoming a free agent following the 2028 season. The Cards surely aren’t ruling out contending in 2027-28, but Burleson is the type of productive, medium-range (in terms of club control) bat who could net them some much needed young pitching. Selected with the No. 70 pick back in 2020, Burleson debuted in 2022 but took a couple years to find his footing. He turned in a roughly league-average season at the plate in 2024 and has broken out as a genuine middle-of-the-order bat in the two subsequent seasons. Since Opening Day 2025, Burleson sports a hefty (burly? …sorry) .287/.344/.459 batting line with 33 homers, 52 doubles, three triples, eight stolen bases, a 7.5% walk rate and a 14.9% strikeout rate that’s well shy of league average. That’s come in a sample of 1004 plate appearances. Burleson isn’t platooned strictly in St. Louis, but there’s an argument that he ought to be. He held his own against lefties in 2025, with a slightly below-average (98 wRC+) .271/.310/.398 batting line. This year, he’s batting just .195/.221/.278 in 140 left-on-left matchups. Last season was really the only time he’s produced against southpaws in the majors; overall, Burleson is a .222/.256/.316 hitter in those settings. On the other side of the coin, he’s roughed up righties at a .286/.345/.464 clip — including a huge .309/.373/.507 line dating back to last year’s breakout. Though he doesn’t draw great marks for his defense at first base, Burleson isn’t a liability there either. In nearly 1400 innings dating back to 2024, he’s only a bit below average in the eyes of Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-1) and Defensive Runs Saved (-5). He also has 1600 career innings in the outfield corners, but Burleson has graded quite poorly there (-12 DRS, -20 OAA), which shouldn’t be all that surprising for a player whose sprint speed ranks in just the 12th percentile of big league position players. He can be a serviceable emergency option who’ll catch what’s hit near him, but a team isn’t (or shouldn’t) acquire Burleson with an eye toward regular work in either corner. There are plenty of clubs looking for help at first base. The D-backs, notably, have been looking for lefty bats they could plug into the mix there. The Guardians, Twins and division-rival Pirates haven’t gotten much from the DH slot this year. A Burleson trade isn’t necessarily likely, but the Cardinals aren’t shutting any doors. That’s also true when it comes to the organization’s glut of young catchers. It’s already been reported that both Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera have drawn plenty of interest. The Cards have one of the game’s top two catching prospects, Rainiel Rodriguez, and aren’t going to move him, but they have well-regarded Leo Bernal in Triple-A and another intriguing young catcher, Jimmy Crooks, on the big league roster. Ken Rosenthal, Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that even though the Cardinals don’t think Herrera’s long-term future is at catcher (due to his glove there), the team is so high on his bat that they’re not keen on dealing him. Crooks is the likeliest of St. Louis’ young catchers to be dealt, per the report. A glimpse at Crooks’ big league numbers to date wouldn’t make that appear particularly exciting. He’s hitting .171/.261/.317 this season and carries a .157/.225/.291 line dating back to last year. That’s a tiny sample of just 138 plate appearances with no regular playing time, however. Crooks has had no issue against Triple-A pitching, slashing .271/.359/.475 in parts of three seasons. He’s homered 13 times in 39 Triple-A games this season while providing offense that’s 50% better than average in the International League, by measure of wRC+. Crooks has averaged 92 mph off the bat with a 52.8% hard-hit rate in Triple-A this season and is at 91.5 mph and 48.8% in those categories in his limited MLB work dating back to last year. The lefty-swinging Crooks strikes out too often in the upper minors but has above-average to plus power and is a good defender. He’s a fairly classic power-over-hit catcher whose home runs and glovework give him a good chance to overcome what’ll likely be low batting averages and pedestrian on-base percentages in his career. He’d be a plug-and-play option for a new club — one that could be controlled for six seasons beyond the current one. He’ll have two minor league option years remaining beyond 2026. All those traits will make Crooks appealing to other teams. He could be a key component in a package for a controllable starting pitcher or could be swapped out for a young starter who has a similarly sound minor league track record but has yet to garner a real big league opportunity. The Rangers, Angels, Rays and Red Sox are among the clubs known to be looking for young catching help. The Yankees are looking around the market but prefer a righty bat. The White Sox want a catcher but likely only a short-term pickup to help patch things over while Kyle Teel is on the mend from an ankle injury. Even sellers like the Giants, Rockies and Mets surely wouldn’t mind adding a major league-ready option behind the plate (particularly if the Rox move Hunter Goodman or the Mets deal Francisco Alvarez). Circling back to a much likelier trade candidate, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the aforementioned Romero has resumed baseball activities. He’s on the injured list after undergoing an appendectomy a couple weeks ago, but it seems he’s not expected to be out long. “Multiple” clubs have been in recent contact with the Cards about Romero, per Goold. A free agent at season’s end, Romero feels like a lock to be dealt now that the Cardinals are going down this path. He’s earning a reasonable $4.26MM this season and posted a 3.35 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 48.3% ground-ball rate in 43 innings before having his appendix removed. All of those rate stats are better than the league average, and this would be Romero’s fourth straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA if he sustains anything close to his current pace. Dating back to 2023, Romero touts a 3.02 ERA in 199 2/3 innings. The Cards added Romero in the 2022 trade that sent utilityman Edmundo Sosa to Philadelphia. He initially carved out a role as a low-leverage middle reliever, but he’s moved up the bullpen hierarchy throughout his time in St. Louis. He’s been a key late-inning arm for the past several seasons and now has 78 holds and a dozen saves dating back to 2023. There’s no chance the Cardinals make him a qualifying offer, but even if he’s not back from the IL before the deadline, he should net them a mid-range prospect or two from a contending club’s system.