Addition of Matt Holliday headlines shake-ups to St. Louis Cardinals coaching staff

After a year of both personal and family achievements that would seem to be difficult to top, Matt Holliday’s 2022 wrapped up by guaranteeing that his 2023 would be significantly busier.

The Cardinals announced Sunday morning that Holliday, elected to their Hall of Fame this past summer immediately before his son, Jackson, was taken first overall in the MLB Draft, would be added to their staff as the new bench coach following Skip Schumaker’s departure to manage the Miami Marlins.

In addition, Dusty Blake was promoted to pitching coach to replace the departing Mike Maddux and Turner Ward to hitting coach to replace the departing Jeff Albert. Brandon Allen, who spent the last three seasons as the hitting coach at Triple-A Memphis, was promoted to fill Ward’s former role.

The club also announced Julio Rangel, who spent two seasons as the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers and was most recently the pitching coordinator for the Boston Red Sox, would join the staff as assistant pitching coach/bullpen coach. He replaces Carlyle native Bryan Eversgerd, who was reassigned in the organization as a special assistant.

Stubby Clapp, Pop Warner, Willie McGee, Patrick Elkins, Jamie Pogue and Kleininger Teran remain with the club in their prior coaching roles.

The addition of Holliday will certainly grab the most attention, as his insertion as the bench coach comes after having formal coaching experience only as a volunteer assistant under his brother at Oklahoma State University.

However, his close relationship with manager Oli Marmol and the significant respect he holds inside the organization — including with key players like former teammates Nolan Arenado and Adam Wainwright — should allow him to ably fill Schumaker’s shoes as a vital sounding board for the manager and an important conduit to players as someone will full understanding of the day to day struggle in the big leagues.

Blake’s promotion was expected from the moment President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak announced that Maddux would be stepping aside. Added to the Cardinals staff before the 2021 season, Blake was previously the pitching coach at Duke University. His understanding of modern techniques and technological tools used to dissect the art of pitching will be utilized as the Cardinals attempt to modernize their pitching department in the same way they’ve done with their hitters since bringing in Albert and minor league hitting coordinator Russ Steinhorn.

Allen, trained in those modern methods, has worked with the top hitting prospects who have reached the majors and is extremely well regarded throughout the organization. Indeed, as the Cardinals sought to implement an organization-wide strategy premised in large part on technological integration, it has been Allen who’s been responsible for honing lessons at lower levels for use and application in the big leagues.

Final thoughts

The announcement of new coaches comes one day after the end of the World Series and four days before free agency officially opens at 4 p.m. central Thursday. The Cardinals, who have been positioned by the front office as aggressive in their pursuit of additions and who have committed to add payroll this winter, will have significant work to do in reshaping the roster.

A significant reshaping of the coaching staff was not among their offseason plans. Mozeliak was prepared to offer contract extensions to both Albert and Maddux and was eager to return Schumaker to his role. Circumstances altered that plan, and now the winter path returns to its expected trajectory.

This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 10:41 AM.