Cardinals: 4 mistakes Oli Marmol can't afford to repeat if he wants to keep his job
By Curt Bishop
2. Don't bench Willson Contreras
One of the biggest head-scratchers of the 2023 season was when Marmol pulled Willson Contreras from the starting catcher spot and limited him to DH duties.
This was an organization-wide decision and an unfair punishment to Contreras, who had worked hard to adapt to his new pitching staff. The pitching staff ultimately was the main culprit for the team starting off 10-24.
While Contreras' defense was subpar at certain points during the season, throwing him under the bus was unfair and ultimately sent a bad message.
The Cardinals corrected this mistake after a week, but they made a rash decision to appease the pitchers who were performing poorly.
The team will need Contreras behind the plate for the majority of 2024. If anything goes wrong, they have Ivan Herrera who could be used occasionally as the starter, but they signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal to replace Yadier Molina.
To be fair, that was an unrealistic expectation, but the Cardinals need to understand that the days of Molina are through, and Contreras is the catcher for the future. That starts with Marmol.