Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Cardinals have fallen below .500 for the first time this season after a brutal July slump.
- Oli Marmol faces mounting pressure as the front office debates whether to stick with the current leadership or pursue dramatic change.
- Legendary franchise icon Albert Pujols remains a popular name among frustrated fans, despite the risks of such a move.
Apparently, the dreaded Home Run Derby curse decided that it would take effect on more than just St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.
The Cardinals have lost nine-of-12 since returning from Walker’s derby victory during the All-Star Break. Walker has yet to go long, and Tuesday’s 10-2 loss to the rival Cubs dropped the Cardinals below .500 for the first time this year.
After months of overperforming, the Cardinals now sit 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.
“There’s just a real conviction at the moment of not remaining in the middle,” manager Oli Marmol said. “That should be exciting for everybody in this building and everybody that enjoys watching us. Because we have a real understanding that we are not where we want to be and [there is] a real clear path of how we want to get there, though.”
Those who enjoy watching the Cardinals likely don’t want to hear it, Oli. In fact, they may already be thinking about how quickly Albert Pujols can wear his familiar No. 5 again.
Could the St. Louis Cardinals hire Albert Pujols to replace Oli Marmol?
The two ongoing front-office and managerial trends are teams reuniting with their former stars or hiring those young enough that the Xbox 360 was their first gaming console. We’re seeing just how well the Buster Posey experiment is going in San Francisco, and the Mets are widely expected to name Carlos Beltrán their next manager when the season ends.
So, yes, there is a path for the Cardinals to fire Marmol and hire Pujols. The problem isn’t whether Pujols is properly equipped to manage an MLB team, but instead what happens if things go wrong. There is inherent danger in bringing in one of the greatest players in franchise history as a coach or executive.
Look what just happened with Jason Varitek and the Red Sox earlier this year. Boston reassigned Varitek, their former captain and a two-time World Series-winning catcher, when Alex Cora — himself a former Red Sox infielder — was fired in April. And if Posey were instead Joe Schmoe, his seat would be scorching because of the Giants’ atrocious 2026 season and the recent Pride Night controversy.
That’s not to say the Cardinals should shy away from Pujols solely because things could get awkward if they needed to eventually fire him. That comes with the territory, and Cardinals ownership prefers stability at the top. The team has only had four managers since the start of 1996, and Marmol’s .501 winning percentage makes him the only one below .555 through July 2026.
But if the Cardinals feel that it’s time to move on from Marmol, perhaps they’re better off looking elsewhere — and no, I don’t mean Yadier Molina. I’d suggest Cora, but all signs point to him taking the Phillies’ job. Maybe Rob Thomson if the ex-Phillies manager wants to work next year?
Cardinals fans won’t want to hear that neither Pujols nor Molina is worth pursuing. Then again, there isn’t much that the team itself is providing that they’re likely happy about.
More St. Louis Cardinals news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google