Cardinals legends' international rivalry should decide ideal Oli Marmol replacement

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has been on the hot seat far too long to keep his job. There's a half-season limit on this ride, unfortunately, and Marmol has been the ire of the Cardinals fanbase for the better part of two years now.

Rather than fire Marmol last offseason, John Mozeliak gave him an extension through the end of the 2025 season. St. Louis could have let Marmol go after this season, as well, given the Cards haven't made the playoffs since 2022 and finished double-digit games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. It didn't matter.

Mozeliak blamed scouting and development for the Cardinals lack of success the past few years. Rather than turn Marmol into the obvious fall guy, St. Louis will enter next season with (what should be) a lame duck manager.

“We’re shifting to a heavy emphasis that puts it back on scouting and player development,” Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ($). “I would say that over the past 10 years or so we’ve run a lean operation, and part of that was to allow us to maximize success at the Major League level. But over time you learn that machine can wear down. It’s just not producing at the level it once did. That’s not to say our Minor Leagues are in disarray. But an emphasis on infrastructure is something we have been taking a very serious look at."

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Potential Cardinals Oli Marmol replacements battling it out internationally

St. Louis sticking with Marmol for the 2025 season gives two former team legends and likely Baseball Hall of Famers a chance to hone thier skill as a manager. Both Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina – two former Cardinals who have expressed an interest in managing in MLB – are coaching in LIDOM, otherwise known as the Dominican professional baseball league.

If Cardinals fans don't want to watch Yankees-Dodgers (and who could blame them), LIDOM is a nice alternative. Pujols' team is in first place Leones del Escogido, while Águilas fired their previous manager in favor of Molina. This is a Cardinals content gold mine.

Molina has previous managerial experience with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. If he can turn Águilas around and overcome their early-season deficit, he deserves a look next season once Marmol finally flames out. Former catchers often make great big-league managers, and Molina won't be the exception.