The Cardinals might have a Royals outfield answer, but it’s not who you think

The Kansas City Royals entered this offseason still searching for solutions to a stunning lack of production from their outfielders. It’s the same general malady they carried into last winter, but with a complication — adding to the problem is the club’s new desire to find an outfielder to platoon in right with Jac Caglianone, the highly-touted prospect who so disappointingly failed to help KC’s chronically weak outfield bats.

Just who might be the pieces to solve this bothersome outfield puzzle continues to generate no shortage of speculation. Hardly a day goes by without a new name surfacing or previous ones being rehashed; prominently mentioned in seemingly countless media projections have been Royals free agent Mike Yastrzemski, Philadelphia free agent Harrison Bader, Texas free agent Adolis García, and Taylor Ward before the Angels traded him to Baltimore.

Also in that speculative mix is St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan, a fine hitter with a bit of versatility who’d certainly help the Royals. But he isn’t the only Cardinal KC general manager J.J. Picollo should check in on: Picollo should at least nudge the clearly rebuilding Cardinals about Alec Burleson.

The left-handed hitter isn’t the outfielder to pair with Caglianone — the Royals need a right-hander for that — but he could be ideal in left.

The Royals should sound out the Cardinals about Alec Burleson

Why Burleson should pique Kansas City’s interest and spark discussion between Kauffman and Busch Stadiums isn’t hard to see.

First, of course, is Burleson’s bat. He’s improved at the plate every season since debuting with the Cards with the forgettable .188/.264/.271 line he put up over 16 late-season games in 2022. Given a second chance in 2023, he slashed a more respectable .244/.300/.390 with eight homers in 107 games. Then, playing in all but 10 games for the Cards in 2024, he belted 21 homers, drove in 78 runs, and slashed .269/.314/.420.

And while his homers dropped by three and his RBI by nine this season, his average improved 21 points to .290, his OBP 29 points to .343, and his SLG 39 points to .459. And his 124 wRC+ and 2.1 fWAR are career bests.

Burleson also doesn’t whiff or strike out much. And he recently won his first Silver Slugger award in just his third full big league season.

Burleson has played both outfield corners and first base in the majors, but needs some work in left, where he has -5 DRS and -8 OAA in 118 big league appearances — and where he’ll spend most of his time if he happens to become a Royal.

But at 27, Burleson is young, and because he isn’t eligible to test free agency until after the 2028 season, he’d be under Kansas City’s control for three years. That makes him a better option for the Royals than an older veteran who might not be interested in spending more than a season or two in Kansas City before taking another shot at the open market … or retiring.

So it is that Burleson makes a lot of sense for the Royals.