4 goals for Cardinals manager Oli Marmol in 2026

Few people on the St. Louis Cardinals have had more pressure to perform than manager Oliver Marmol has these last few years. The club's skipper for four seasons now, Marmol has a career 325-323 record in the regular season. He's only made the postseason once as manager, and the Cardinals lost in two games to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 National League Wild Card series.

Most fans have been left disappointed with the team's performance these last four years, but it's important to add context to Marmol's tenure. He was given one (mostly) complete roster during his time, and that team made it to the postseason only to fall flat due to lackluster pitching. Since 2023, the team that Oliver Marmol has been given to compete hasn't held a candle to other National League powerhouses like the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves.

Now, Marmol enters his final contract year on a lukewarm seat, not due to his win-loss record but more so due to the importance of player development this year. Oli Marmol should set four goals for himself this year in order to see an extension beyond the 2026 season.

Oliver Marmol's four goals for the 2026 season should center around the long-term picture for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Goal #1: Daily player growth and development

One of president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom's aphorisms since taking over has been that player development doesn't stop at the majors. That belief couldn't be more true than this year.

Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Andre Pallante, Ryan Fernandez, Masyn Winn, and several others all fit into this bucket, though some more urgently than others. Marmol, a former minor-league manager at many levels, is perhaps most known for his penchant to help develop young players. He'll have to tap back into that core aspect of himself in 2026 while he helps these young players come into their own.

While most people will look strictly at the stat lines for these players, the daily work and growth that the coaching staff and development team see will carry more weight within the organization. Hopefully those daily gains are evidenced in more traditional stat lines at the end of the season.

Goal #2: Build a culture

The Cardinals enter the 2026 season with one of their youngest and most inexperienced rosters in a long time. Therefore, the building of the culture will be placed on the shoulders of the coaching staff and other developing leaders like Alec Burleson, Michael McGreevy, and Dustin May.

Oli Marmol should take this season to build a culture within the clubhouse, one that the young players can latch onto and make their own as well. One of the primary jobs of a manager is a relational one with his players, coaches, and front office staff. One of Marmol's primary goals this year should be to establish an identity for the Cardinals as they enter this next era of St. Louis baseball.

Goal #3: Maintain the clubhouse

Let's not fool ourselves, the 2026 season will be an uphill battle to relevancy for the Cardinals. They have no former All-Stars on the team, their top fWAR getters since 2023 (Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan) are all gone, and there is a severe lack of experience on the roster. Reaching the .500 point this year will be surprising and a breaking of several pre-season win projections.

Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that the Cardinals will experience some lengthy losing streaks throughout the year. It's imperative that Marmol maintain the clubhouse vibe to keep young players who haven't experienced losing as often in high spirits.

Goal #4: Win, sort of

This should always be the goal for an MLB manager. However, the Cardinals aren't in normal circumstances right now. If Marmol is able to achieve the first three goals on this list, winning could come naturally. Individual player growth, an establishment of a culture, and a strong clubhouse vibe could all lead to team success in the win column.

Winning, however, shouldn't be Marmol's primary goal. The Cardinals sacrificed the long-term health of the organization for short-term success these last two seasons, and the club was in turn left mired in baseball purgatory for too long.

If the Cardinals happen to win, that's great! However, Marmol shouldn't aim for wins at the sacrifice of player development and team cohesion this year.