MLB's RBI Leader Wants To Sign Long-Term Extension With Cardinals

September 26, 2026
Alec Burleson is having a career year for the St. Louis Cardinals.

He's made it clear he'd welcome the chance to stay well beyond it.

Burleson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold that he's open to extension talks whenever the team wants to have them.

"I'm open to it, and I'll be all ears if they want to come to me and try and see what happens," Burleson said. "I love St. Louis. The family loves St. Louis. I like what is going on here as far as where this is headed, and I think we've got an opportunity to do a lot of fun things in the near future."

Career Year Backing Up The Ask

Burleson entered the weekend hitting .279/.343/.464 with 24 home runs and a league-leading 113 RBI, remarkably close to last year's .290/.343/.459 line but built on 118 more plate appearances.

He's making just $3.3 million this season in his first year of arbitration eligibility, with two more years of club control remaining before reaching free agency in the 2028-29 offseason.

Burleson said he's hopeful a deal comes together before this winter's looming potential lockout, but added he'd be equally open to picking the conversation back up in spring training if it doesn't happen before then.

There aren't many recent contract comparables that map cleanly onto Burleson's situation.

The only first basemen in his service-time class to sign extensions buying out free-agent years over the past five years are Matt Olson, who got eight years and $168 million from Atlanta, and Yandy Diaz, who signed for three years and $24 million with Tampa Bay.

Notable Shift From This Summer

Burleson generated trade interest heading into the deadline, with MLB Network's Jon Morosi naming him one of the more popular controllable bats on the market and Jon Heyman connecting the San Diego Padres to him as a potential fit.

The Cardinals held onto him regardless, and with Burleson now the one publicly pushing for a long-term deal, the door has shifted from him potentially being dealt away to him becoming a piece the front office may want to lock up instead.

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