Cardinals, Marmol grapple with unknowns as a new era approaches
Five months into a season in which the primary goal has been less about competitive success and more about a full evaluative breakdown of the organization’s future, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol doesn’t view his work as complete — not even close.
It’s one thing to know the end of the season is coming and that front-office changes will follow shortly thereafter. But that process doesn’t align neatly with player development. There’s no finish line on the final day, and no easy decisions to be made.
“I think there’s still a ton to learn,” Marmol said Monday. “I don’t want to open up a can of worms, but I could ask you several questions you probably don’t have answers to, because there’s still not clarity, right? So I think this next month is extremely important in continuing to evaluate guys and making sure that the things you want to see them improve on, we’re actually taking steps in that direction.”
The unknown — or at least uncertain — variable in all these decisions is the point of view of the incoming baseball operations department, now headed by Chaim Bloom. Whatever friction may exist between Bloom’s philosophies and those of outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has largely been kept behind closed doors this season, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, or that it hasn’t filtered down to the coaching staff.
Injuries have also disrupted plans. Outfielder Victor Scott II is nursing a sprained ankle and is perhaps a week away from returning. Lars Nootbaar, slowed by a rib injury, is currently sidelined. Rookie shortstop Masyn Winn admitted Monday that the knee soreness plaguing him for much of the season is likely to result in offseason surgery.
These are all variables that weigh on evaluations and push them in different directions. If Winn, for example, hasn’t been able to steal bases at his usual rate because he’s managing an injury, that now becomes part of his medical history. Whether that’s relevant for his future role with the club — and whether anyone else will be similarly affected — will be a decision for others. That’s one reason why Marmol’s job over the next month takes on even more nuance.
“I’m tasked with making sure our staff has a clear plan for each guy, and that they’re accountable for making progress with that plan, finding different ways of helping players understand and execute it,” Marmol said. “That’s what I’ll do. Once you get to the end of the year, I’ll let the people above assess what we have and how they want to move forward.”
Left unsaid, but not unconsidered, is that Marmol himself is part of those evaluations. He has insisted repeatedly, both publicly and privately, that he has no concerns about his job status, and by all appearances, that’s true. It’s possible he returns for the 2026 season and beyond. It would be hard to argue he hasn’t maximized results from a roster with undeniable talent deficits.
What awaits the manager and team is the precipice of the unknown. Planned continuity has characterized baseball operations for most of the four decades under the current ownership group. There hasn’t been a transition like the one looming this winter in 30 years of Cardinals baseball — and it comes as attendance drops, media rights are in flux, and the ground is quickly shifting beneath the organization.
For a franchise that has long prided itself on continuity and “The Cardinal Way,” it’s unclear if the magnitude of the coming changes is being fully anticipated.
Ultimately, whatever decisions are made around the roster will be made with incomplete information, because that’s how these processes work. Player development is not linear, and it’s almost impossible to know which specific factor will finally lead to a breakthrough for any one individual.
Contracts aren’t designed that way. The baseball industry doesn’t operate that way. In theory, the Cardinals can be more patient with Scott, who has five years of team control remaining, than with Nootbaar, who has two.
Pressed on the idea that time is on his side, Marmol pushed back.
“Do you? Because you always have someone on your [expletive] heels,” he said.
That’s the dilemma. There’s always someone else coming. Not all decisions are obvious. The Cardinals face many decisions just a month from now, and there’s little anyone can do — except confront it directly and make the most of what they have. With fewer than 30 games remaining, it’s up to them to seize just a little bit more.
