MLB Insider: What the Cardinals' future with Oli Marmol could look like

The St. Louis Cardinals’ season has been a rollercoaster, and it has the organization on the verge of asking serious questions about its leadership.

To start the season, manager Oli Marmol appeared firmly on the hot seat despite signing a contract extension before Opening Day. Then the Cardinals bounced back and were firmly in playoff position and looked wise for keeping both Marmol and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. But now, with the Cardinals on the outside looking in for a postseason spot, those same questions regarding Marmol’s job status are prominent.

To be fair, the Cardinals are not bad. They are 70-69 and only 5.5 games out of a wild card spot. But they are a talented team filled with veterans and high-end young players who have failed to meet expectations this season. Nolan Arenado, the teams’ veteran slugger, has bounced back after a slow start to the season but is hitting only .266/.316/.394 with 15 home runs and 64 RBI. Paul Goldschmidt, meanwhile, has posted the worst numbers of his 14-year career and faces an uncertain future.

It’s prompted ticket prices to plummet and attendance numbers to reach record lows in St. Louis. And if the Cardinals want to send a message to the fanbase showing the organization is serious about contending, it will make a change at the helm.

How Cardinals changes will affect Oli Marmol, John Mozeliak

Those changes are unlikely to include Mozeliak. It is likely that he will finish out his contract through 2025, which would then put the Cardinals in position to search for a new president of baseball operations. Chaim Bloom, who is an advisor in the front office, would loom as a serious candidate for the job.

Marmol’s status, meanwhile, remains unclear. If the Cardinals were to fire Marmol, the team would be on its third manager since the 2021 season. There would surely be a long list of interested candidates for the job, with Skip Schumaker of the Miami Marlins looming as a strong contender.

What the Cardinals do is something that everyone in baseball is watching. Right now, nobody knows. But with the playoffs increasingly unlikely and attendance numbers dwindling, the pressure on Marmol has never been greater. And could force ownership to make a change at the managerial position once again.