Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Goes on IL with thumb fracture
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St. Louis placed Burleson on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left thumb fracture.
Burleson suffered the season-ending injury while sliding into third base Tuesday night against the Brewers and underwent surgery Wednesday morning. The 24-year-old finishes the 2023 campaign with a .244/.300/.390 slash line, eight home runs, 20 doubles and 36 RBI in 107 major-league games.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Suffers thumb fracture
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Burleson fractured his left thumb while stealing third base Tuesday against Milwaukee, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
After jamming his hand while sliding into third, Burleson's injury will put an early end to his 2023 campaign. He'll finish the season with a .242/.298/.385 slash line while slugging eight homers and tallying 35 RBI across 343 plate appearances. Luken Baker entered Tuesday's game as Burleson's replacement and could see an uptick in DH opportunities while Burleson and Nolan Gorman (hamstring) are out.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Picks up second steal
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Burleson went 1-for-4 with one RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Phillies.
Burleson has two steals this season, and they've come over his last eight games. He's hit safely in his last three contests, and he could be gaining some traction in the lineup against right-handed pitchers. The 24-year-old is up to a .240/.293/.383 slash line with eight home runs, 35 RBI and 32 runs scored through 103 games. The Cardinals will likely want to get a long look at Burleson over the last two weeks of the season to evaluate his progress this year.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Notches first steal
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 11-6 win over Atlanta.
The steal was Burleson's first of the season, which came on his second attempt. The outfielder has had a tough time breaking into the Cardinals' lineup on a regular basis, as the team has typically used the designated hitter spot to get some rest for lineup regulars. Through 311 plate appearances this season, Burleson has a .245/.297/.399 slash line with eight home runs, 33 RBI and 31 runs scored. He should primarily play against right-handed pitchers when he's in the lineup, as he has a paltry .499 OPS over 27 plate appearances versus southpaws this year.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Out against lefty
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
He'll join fellow left-handed hitter Nolan Gorman on the bench with the Padres bringing southpaw Rich Hill to the bump in the series finale. Burleson could soon see his opportunities to play against right-handed pitching take a hit, too, as the Cardinals could get Lars Nootbaar (groin) back from the 10-day injured list as soon as this weekend.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Idle versus lefty
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
He had started in four of the Cardinals' last five games, but the lefty-hitting Burleson will duck out of the lineup for Monday's series opener with the Padres bringing southpaw Blake Snell to the hill. With Burleson on the bench, the Cardinals will give Willson Contreras a day off behind the plate and have him serve as the designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Hits bench Monday
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The Pirates are deploying a right-hander (Thomas Hatch) as their opening pitcher, but with southpaw Bailey Falter likely to cover the bulk of the innings behind him, the lefty-hitting Burleson will head to the bench. Catcher Andrew Knizner will essentially fill Burleson's spot in the lineup while Willson Contreras gets a day off behind the plate and serves as St. Louis' designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Not starting Friday
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Burleson isn't in the Cardinals' lineup Friday against the Mets, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
After going 0-for-1 with a sacrifice fly in Thursday's series opener, Burleson will once again retreat to the dugout to begin Friday's game. Burleson's absence opens up a chance for Paul Goldschmidt to serve as the DH, allowing Luken Baker to start at first base.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting versus lefty
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Burleson is out of the lineup Thursday versus the Mets.
Burleson went 2-for-4 with a double out of the cleanup spot Wednesday against the Athletics, but he'll head to the bench Thursday with left-hander Jose Quintana toeing the slab for New York. Tyler O'Neill, Tommy Edman and Jordan Walker are starting across the outfield while Willson Contreras serves as the Cardinals' designated hitter. Andrew Knizner will catch.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: On bench versus lefty
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Burleson is not in the lineup Monday against the Athletics.
Luken Baker will take a turn as the Cardinals' designated hitter with left-hander JP Sears toeing the slab for Oakland. Tyler O'Neill, Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker are starting across the outfield. The left-handed-hitting Burleson has slashed .182/.250/.227 in 24 plate appearances versus southpaws this year.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting versus lefty
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Burleson isn't in the Cardinals' lineup Saturday against the Royals, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
With lefty Cole Ragans starting on the mound for Kansas City, the left-handed Burleson will step out of the lineup to begin Saturday's contest. Willson Contreras will serve as St. Louis' DH, allowing Andrew Knizner to start behind the plate.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Re-enters lineup
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Burleson is serving as the Cardinals' designated hitter Tuesday against the Rays and batting sixth, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Burleson was originally slated for a day off Tuesday, but he will enter the lineup to replace Tyler O'Neill, who was scratched due to knee tightness. Burleson has been heating up at the plate recently, going 6-for-13 with two homers and four RBI since the beginning of August.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: On bench again Tuesday
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Burleson is absent from the lineup Tuesday versus the Rays.
Burleson has been in a nice groove at the dish since the All-Star break, but he was on the bench for Sunday's series finale against the Rockies and will also take a seat Tuesday as the Cardinals open a three-game set at Tampa Bay. Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson and Jordan Walker are starting across the outfield as Lars Nootbaar gets a turn as the designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Bright spot in loss
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Burleson went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Twins.
Burleson has gone yard in back-to-back games to snap a 14-game homer drought. He's starting to carve out more playing time between first base and designated hitter, and Brendan Donovan (arm) being out for the year should allow Burleson to be in the lineup versus most right-handed pitchers. For the season, the 24-year-old is slashing .249/.298/.425 with eight homers, 25 RBI, 27 runs scored, 13 doubles and a triple over 239 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Slams three-run homer
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Burleson went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run Wednesday in a 7-3 win against the Twins.
Burleson got the start at DH for St. Louis and capped the team's scoring with a three-run blast to right field in the third inning. The homer more than doubled his RBI total since the All-Star break -- coming into Wednesday, he had driven in just two runs over 38 second-half at-bats. Burleson hasn't been getting much playing time of late, as his start Wednesday was just his second over the Cardinals' past five games.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Back on bench Tuesday
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Burleson has now hit the bench for three of the Cardinals' last four matchups with right-handed starting pitchers, and unless St. Louis elects to trade one of its everyday position players leading up to Tuesday's deadline, he'll have to settle for a part-time role. The 24-year-old has shown excellent bat-to-ball skills (10.8 percent strikeout rate in 231 plate appearances), but the power he displayed at Triple-A Memphis in 2022 hasn't quite carried over to the big leagues.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting in third straight
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Burleson is on the bench for the third straight game and looks to have lost hold of a strong-side platoon role in the wake of Dylan Carlson returning from the injured list earlier in the weekend. Since Burleson won't offer the Cardinals much value in a bench role as a lefty hitter with limited defensive flexibility, it wouldn't be overly surprising if he is demoted to Triple-A Memphis the next time St. Louis needs to make a roster move.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Clubs homer in win
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Burleson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Rangers.
Burleson's eighth-inning blast off Jon Gray accounted for the lone run of the game. After playing regularly in late May, Burleson's hitting has slipped a bit, reducing him to a strong-side platoon role. He's gone 5-for-25 (.200) with two homers and a double over his last seven contests, and he's now slashing .226/.278/.390 with five long balls, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored and no stolen bases through 48 games overall.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting against lefty again
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
For the second straight game, the lefty-hitting Burleson finds himself on the bench while the Cardinals oppose another southpaw (Martin Perez). Luken Baker, who went 2-for-4 with a strikeout in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh in his MLB debut, will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and will likely occupy the short side of a platoon with Burleson for the foreseeable future.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Pops fourth homer
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.
Burleson got the Cardinals on the board with the first of their three homers in the fifth inning, which was his first homer since April 27. He's hit safely in five of his last six games, going 6-for-19 (.316) over that span. The outfielder has earned a strong-side platoon role in left field while Dylan Carlson (ankle) and Tyler O'Neill (back) are out. Burleson has hit .240 with a .694 OPS, four long balls, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored, six doubles and a triple through 137 plate appearances.
