Cardinals ideal Oli Marmol replacement might already be out of the question

Jul 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) walks back to the dugout after a visit to the mound against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have had a rollercoaster ride of a 2024 season. After a brutal start to the campaign, the Cardinals were playing well and seemingly destined for a postseason berth. Instead, the team went back into a freefall, and they were officially eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend.

With the Cardinals fanbase frustrated and not showing up to games, they are waiting to see if there will be substantial change. When a team struggles and misses the playoffs, all eyes first go to the manager. In this case. that's Oli Marmol.

There has been one dream candidate for Cardinals fans — Skip Schumaker. The former Cardinals player is set to leave the Miami Marlins after the season, one year after taking them to the playoffs with an 84-78 record. But the Cardinals hiring Schumaker may be just that — a dream.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney (subscription required), there is "industry speculation" that Schumaker would prefer to manage a team on the West Coast once he does hit the open market. With that in mind, that would rule out the Cardinals.

Cardinals fans' dream manager reportedly prefers managing a West Coast team

If that's the case, then so much for that idea.

What is known about the Cardinals is that team president John Mozeliak is expected to follow through with his plan to stay in his role until his contract expires at the end of the 2025 season. The belief around the league is that Chaim Bloom, former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer will replace him.

But when it comes to Marmol, he is under contract through the 2026 season after signing an extension before this season. Olney says that if the Cardinals were to fire Marmol, they would have to pay off his contract. Here is what a rival team told Olney:

"That's not an organization that likes to pay people for not working," said the rival.

The final decision will come from the Cardinals once the season ends. From there, we will see if the Cardinals run it back with Marmol, or opt to go in a different direction.

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