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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol is aware the optics are not great, and he fully realizes that they may get even fuzzier if his team struggles to start the 2024 season.
Such is life as a big league manager when you are coming off a season where his Cardinals finished last in their division for the first time in 33 years. Like the mighty, muddy Mississippi River flowing just a few blocks away from Busch Stadium, the World Series-or-bust expectations never stop in St. Louis — and that urgency has ratcheted up even higher this offseason.
As for those surrounding optics, there sits Marmol, still one of the game’s youngest managers at 37 years old with two seasons of experience as an MLB skipper. One of those years was robust, especially with how Marmol deftly handled aging superstars Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. The other season was dreary, with a 71-91 finish in 2023.
Not only is Marmol about to enter the final season of his three-year contract, but the franchise just hired a legendary icon as a coaching advisor (Molina) and a fan favorite and MLB manager hopeful as bench coach (Daniel Descalso).
Marmol’s biggest backer, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has also openly talked about the franchise needing a succession plan for when Mozeliak moves on following the 2025 season.
Former Rays and Red Sox front office exec Chaim Bloom — arguably the franchise’s third-most significant offseason addition behind Sonny Gray and Molina — is in an advisory role for now. But it’s not difficult to connect the dots between Bloom and a future job as the Cards’ top baseball boss. If that were to happen, various internal changes could follow.
Marmol sees it all, and he’s still somehow resolute about the task at hand. He knows there’s no time for a lengthy rebuild or even a steady supply of patience following St. Louis’ first losing season in 16 years. He knows it’s likely win now … or else.
“It’s a high-stakes environment,” Marmol said. “If you’re insecure, then this [manager’s] seat’s not for you. … I want the best people in that clubhouse, in that dugout, on our staff and I’ll continue to do that.”
Marmol pushed hard for the addition of veteran slugger Matt Carpenter, someone well-versed in “The Cardinal Way,” and someone who can help Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Gray shoulder the need for veteran leadership. Even before last season ended, Marmol was a vocal proponent of the Cards adding three — not two — veteran pitchers, and that’s just what they did by signing Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Gray. Reliable pitching, Marmol said, is the easiest way to avoid what happened in 2023.
“It was a difficult year, and you learn a lot about yourself,” Marmol said. “It tested my character. … I needed to be better. Last year wasn’t good enough. And our staff needs to be better. But that starts with me.”
A good place to start would be, well, a better start. The Cardinals won just three of their first 10 games in 2023, and they were sent spiraling by a 2-8 West Coast trip in late April. It turned them into sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline for the first time in decades and it gave them extra time to steam over all that had gone wrong.
This season, the start could be daunting once again, and it figures to test St. Louis’ rebuilt roster right away. The team opens with four games at Dodger Stadium in what could morph into a Shohei Ohtani/Yoshinobu Yamamoto lovefest. Following three games in San Diego against Mike Shildt — who is back in his first managerial job since his St. Louis departure — the Cards play their next nine against 2023 playoff teams (Marlins, Phillies and Diamondbacks).
Another poor start and the noise about Marmol’s future could get loud quickly. He said…
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