3 candidates to become St. Louis Cardinals bench coach

Matt Holliday

Another interesting name to take on the bench coach role is another Cardinal, World Series champion legend in Matt Holliday.

Currently a coach at Oklahoma State University on his brother Josh’s squad, Holliday had expressed interest in the managerial role. It’s not clear if he was interviewed but having him on staff would be interesting. Robert Murray writes about Holliday being under consideration here.

Holliday played in the majors for 15 seasons, six of which were with the Cardinals. Holliday also spent time with the Colorado Rockies and is close friends with Nolan Arenado. Holliday could be another key in keeping Arenado around and away from using his opt-out after the 2022 season. He could also be key in making things even more appealing to another Rockies player on the Cardinals’ radar in Trevor Story.

Holliday would be another good guy to have around for the team’s young outfield to have a mentor to talk with about patrolling the outfield. Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, and Tyler O’Neill would learn so much from Holliday at the plate and in the field. He would be great for any of the guys wanting to talk about hitting and would surely be open to analytics and Jeff Albert’s approach. As he was great friends with Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, he would be an excellent ear for the veterans on staff.

It’s not certain if he would even be interested in the bench coach role, but what an asset he would be for this young team.