This former Cardinals player could be St. Louis’ next manager

Former St. Louis Cardinals player Skip Schumaker appears to be a candidate for the managerial opening.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ move to fire manager Mike Shildt stunned the industry. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, saw it coming. Yet within minutes of the news to announce the move, candidates to replace Shildt at the helm had already begun to surface.

Among them include Cardinals bench coach Oliver Marmol and Stubby Clapp, who managed Triple-A Memphis from 2017-2018 and has been in the organization since 2007. But another candidate, as first mentioned by Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, is former Cardinals player and current San Diego Padres coach Skip Schumaker.

Schumaker, 41, has been with the Padres for six seasons and has plenty of fans inside the Cardinals’ front office. He lacks managerial experience, which could impact his chances, and could use more experience on a coaching staff in general. But he played 11 seasons, including eight with the Cardinals, and has a feel for what the organization is looking for — both from a player and manager standpoint.

It could enhance his candidacy where it makes him a frontrunner for the position if the Cardinals go outside the organization to replace Shildt. And, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, Schumaker would have interest in the position should they reach out to him about the vacancy. One caveat that could scare him, or any outside candidate, is that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak seems intent on keeping the coaching staff intact even after firing Shildt.

Would Schumaker want to do that when there’s a realistic chance he could be a manager in a few seasons? Would any coach want that? It’s unclear, but there’s a reason why the expectation of many is that the Cardinals stay in-house — perhaps with Marmol — to replace Shildt.

Mozeliak wants things done his way. Marmol, or anyone inside the organization, is most likely to go along with his vision.