The St. Louis Cardinals sit towards the bottom of the MLB standings in the middle of May, fueling MLB rumors that the club could be sellers at the trade deadline. It has also raised significant questions about the future of manager Oliver Marmol in St. Louis.
Marmol, age 37, is in his third full season in St. Louis. After serving as the club’s bench coach, he was promoted to manager in 2022 and became the youngest skipper in Major League Baseball. The results, early only, were excellent for St. Louis.
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- Oliver Marmol manager record: 182-185 (.496) with the St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals went 93-69 in their first season under Marol, but a strong regular season was wiped out by a winless NL Wild Card appearance. Following a strong first season at the helm, Marmol’s Cardinals finished 71-91 in 2023 marking the first time since 2007 that the club had a losing record.
Entering MLB games today, the Cardinals have been even worse this year (.419 winning percentage) than they were last season (.435). As a result, questions have been raised regarding whether or not Marmol will stick around.
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In discussing a potential Cardinals’ managerial vacancy, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested that franchise legends Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina could be potential options to replace Marmol in St. Louis next season.
Importantly, there would seem to be mutual interest if that proves to be the case. Molina and Pujols are both reportedly interested in staying involved with baseball following their retirements, with both Cardinals’ icons wanting to become managers.
Given their lack of experience as a manager, Pujols and Molina would face an uphill climb to land the top job in St. Louis. However, both have strong ties to the organization and Molina has long been viewed as a future MLB manager. If someone like Skip Schumaker isn’t hired by St. Louis, then Pujols and Molina could be explored.
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