Oli Marmol understands he's out of excuses as St. Louis Cardinals manager

The St. Louis Cardinals are eager to put the nightmare 2023 season behind them.

Unlike recent offseasons, the Cardinals have been quite active, especially on the pitching front. They were quick to address the weakness that was their starting rotation, adding Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson.

The team is down to a bullpen addition or two before being done constructing their 2024 roster.

And as spring training approaches, perhaps nobody associated with the Cardinals organization is feeling more pressure than manager Oli Marmol, who is in the final year of his contract.

After the Cardinals finished with a record of 71-91, Marmol knows that there are no excuses for another failure (subscription required).

Marmol told Katie Woo that 2023 was not good enough, saying that the entire coaching staff needs to be better, but being clear that the buck stops with him. "I needed to be better," he said.

Marmol makes no excuses for Cardinals 2023 failure

Clearly, Marmol understands that he's going to be on a short leash this season. The Cardinals produced their first losing season since 2007, and the pressure is high, especially with the team's skipper being in the final year of his deal.

If things go south for the Cardinals this year, it's safe to say that some big changes are likely going to be made, potentially starting with Marmol. He was promoted to the managerial role after the shocking firing of Mike Shildt in 2021 and guided the team to a division title the following season.

But things went south in 2023, and the Cardinals finished in last place in the NL Central.

Marmol will have a slightly different staff in 2024. Daniel Descalso was hired to be the team's bench coach, while Yadier Molina joined the front office in an advisory role and will occasionally serve as a coach this year.

"I want to hire somebody that can replace me," said the Cardinals manager. "You want to surround yourself with people that challenge you."

Marmol is obviously hoping that having extra voices will straighten things out for the Cardinals and re-establish a sense of accountability, something he believes he'll get with the addition of Descalso, as well as the return of Matt Carpenter.

Time will tell if the Cardinals are going to be forced to make any major changes. April is set to be one of the more challenging months on their schedule.