In 2022, Oliver Marmol took over a St. Louis Cardinals team he inherited from Mike Shildt, who had gone to the playoffs three years in a row. Marmol led the Cardinals to a 93-69 record in his first season as manager before being eliminated in the NL Wild Card in a two-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
But the past two seasons haven’t gone as well in St. Louis. In 2023, the Cardinals struggled, winning just 71 games. They’ve already won 71 games through 141 contests, but the Cards are still six games out of the NL Wild Card race, and are running out of time to make up the deficit.
Rumors have suggested the Cardinals could consider another managerial change, moving on from Marmol, who has compiled a 235-230 win-loss record in parts of three seasons. If St. Louis does fire Marmol, who could replace him and provide better results?
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Albert Pujols mentioned as possible St. Louis Cardinals manager
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman recently speculated on a few potential St. Louis Cardinals manager replacements if they part ways with Oliver Marmol. Cardinals baseball fans know all three names well.
Heyman noted that former Cardinal Skip Schumaker would make a “natural manager candidate” if St. Louis fires Marmol. Yet, he also added two more “obvious” candidates — Yadier Molina and even Albert Pujols.
Aside from legendary Cardinals players, Heyman suggested a long list of current coaches around MLB.
- Rangers bench coach Will Venable
- Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty
- Cubs first base coach Mike Napoli
- Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas
- Tigers bench coach George Lombard
- Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCulloch
- Don Mattingly
- Buck Showalter
- Charlie Montoyo
If the Cardinals decide to make a managerial change, they’ll have plenty of alternative solutions to pick from. Whether they prefer someone with experience or a familiar face in St. Louis could depend on how the interview process goes.
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