Cardinals have faith in Oli Marmol that no one else does after latest move

On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals made a questionable move that will not sit well with their fans.

The team announced that manager Oli Marmol had been extended through the 2026 season.

Marmol's contract was set to expire after the 2024 season, and the Cardinals appeared to be in a transitional period, where they would use this season as a means to determine if Marmol would be back in 2025. However, the Cardinals have already answered that question and given Marmol a two-year contract extension.

On Twitter/X, Katie Woo, who covers the Cardinals for The Athletic, provided the news of Marmol's extension.

Cardinals extend manager Oli Marmol through 2026

While the Cardinals obviously seem to have faith in Marmol, this is a questionable move.

What the Cardinals see in him is unclear.

He led the team to a 93-69 finish in 2022, which included a division title. However, a crucial mistake in the Wild Card Series with closer Ryan Helsley helped contribute to an early October exit and an unceremonious end to the careers of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.

Last season, he also made several mistakes. While he isn't solely responsible for the team's 71-91 last-place finish, he isn't without fault either.

Marmol often gave players scheduled days off and didn't always put a winning lineup on the field for the final games of series on the road. While the Cardinals were certainly depleted last season, this didn't help.

The 37-year-old also made a critical mistake early in the season when he publicly called out Tyler O'Neill when the young outfielder was thrown out at the plate by Ronald Acuna Jr. in a game against the Atlanta Braves.

This led to a public feud between Marmol and O'Neill that cast a dark shadow on the team and their season.

Holding players accountable is part of the job, but Marmol took it a step too far when he made it public. He also doubled down on it the next day.

"There's a standard here," Marmol said at the time. "You meet it, you play. You don't, you don't."

O'Neill has since been traded to the Boston Red Sox, but this was the first domino to fall in what proved to be a lost season for the Cardinals in 2023.

What the Cardinals see in Marmol isn't clear. They fired Mike Shildt over a "philosophical difference" after a 17-game win streak but held onto Marmol after the team lost 91 games.

Now, they've taken it a step further and given him an extension.

Some Cardinals fans may be willing to give him a second chance, but if 2024 goes south, this decision will not go over too well with the fans.