In spite of their worst season in nearly three decades, the St. Louis Cardinals are not about to make a managerial change just yet.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spoke on the job status of manager Oliver Marmol. Mozeliak revealed that Marmol will remain the team’s manager for the 2024 season.
“I do support him,” Mozeliak said of Marmol, per Katie Woo of The Athletic. “I know he’ll be back next year. I think the job he does is good.”
The Cardinals hired the 37-year-old Marmol to be their manager less than two years ago. He also did a fine job in his first season in charge, leading St. Louis to a 93-win season and a division title in 2022.
But that does not make the team’s 2023 disaster any easier to stomach. The Cardinals sit at the very bottom of the NL Central (65-81) with a winning percentage (.445) that puts them on pace for their worst finish since 1995 (when star infielder Nolan Arenado was four years old).
Marmol might not be the problem, though, as the front office handed him a mismatched roster with a dangerous shortage of effective starting pitching. The Cardinals also sold off some other talented pieces at the trade deadline, so it does not look like Marmol will take the fall for their disappointing year.