When the Cardinals signed manager Oli Marmol to a contract extension in spring training despite a last-place NL Central finish in 2023, fans were in dismay. They were even more concerned about the front office's reasoning for extending Marmol, which was a little foolish to say the least.
“All three of us were somewhat relieved,” Mozeliak said, per The Athletic. “Because what you didn’t want to have happen was if we got off to a rocky start, all of a sudden everybody is calling up someone’s head. So really, it was more of not just a vote of confidence, because he knows we appreciate what he does and how hard he works. But I think it’s something that now no longer will be a distraction, for Oli, staff, players and front office.”
That mistake is magnified every time Marmol makes a mistake on the field or in the clubhouse, and there are plenty I could point to. When St. Louis sent struggling prospect Jordan Walker down to Triple-A to find his swing earlier this week, Marmol explained the decision.
“There was a lot of discussion around it and thinking about what’s best for Jordan’s development; going down to a lower-stake environment and working on the things that he’s been working on the last several weeks made sense,” Marmol said. “I had a good conversation with him this morning, and he felt good about going down there, getting in the work and getting back to producing."
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol doesn't learn from past mistakes
On the surface there is nothing wrong with what Marmol said, though it does break the Cardinals rule of keeping clubhouse matters in the family. Unfortunately, though, Marmol did not stop there, instead listing off a group of players he'd prefer to get consistent at-bats more than Walker.
“It’s just about what he’s swinging at, compared to how he’s getting pitched and what the league is trying to do to him,” Marmol continued. “He has to be able to combat that. [Getting demoted] is not something you want and not something anybody wants for him, but the situation does call for it. Getting at bats for [Iván] Herrera and [Willson] Contreras at the DH and [Alec] Burleson..."
Marmol found out the hard way why voicing concerns and the Cardinals plans to the media is a mistake waiting to happen last season. The Cards skipper called out Tyler O'Neill, a former outfielder in St. Louis, for a perceived lack of hustle. Rather than merely talking things out in Marmol's office, he and O'Neill had a war of words through the media. It's a recipe for disaster.
Walker is in a different spot in his career than O'Neill was. He isn't coming off injury, and is young enough to let Marmol airiing dirty laundry roll off his shoulder. At some point, though, the Cardinals front office has to talk to Marmol. His comments make him a liability and, in the end, a questionable leader for this group.