5 Cardinals who are facing make-or-break seasons in 2025

Oliver Marmol

I hesitate even talking about Oli Marmol due to the sheer amount of backlash I get any time I give Marmol any credit. But here I go.

If they had fired Marmol after the 2024 season, they would have had merit. Marmol has one winning season and playoff appearance in 2022, one of the worst seasons in franchise history in 2023, and a winning but ultimately dissapointing season that saw the Cardinals miss the playoffs for the second straight year in 2024 on his resume.

I would argue the last two seasons are an indictment on the front office more so than Marmol, and actually, the fact that Marmol even managed to win 83 games and finish second in the NL Central with a terrible offense and average rotation should be a feather in Marmol's cap, not something used against him. Even so, expectations are always high in St. Louis, so if Marmol had been fired, very few people would have called foul on that.

The Cardinals are rolling with Marmol for 2025 though, and with his background in player development, the spotlight is especially bright on Marmol to see if he can help young players grow under his leadership and win some games while he's at it.

The main measure for success for Marmol in 2025 should be the development of young players rather than the wins and losses, but those will matter too. If Marmol wants to keep his job long-term, 2025 is going to be an audition for that.

Not just because of his past, but because of the new future the Cardinals have set in place under Chaim Bloom.

You'll notice that John Mozeliak has been very intentional in keeping the slate as clean as possible for Bloom this offseason when it comes to areas of the organization that do not have to do with player development. Most of Mozeliak's regime in the front office are in the final year of their contracts, and the coaching staff can be moved on from as well if Bloom wishes.

We have no idea how Bloom feels about Marmol right now. He may view him as the manager of the future. He may be evaluating him closely with real questions right now. Bloom might already have a new manager in mind for 2026. We don't know. And considering Bloom is a bright baseball mind, he's going to let what happens in 2025 play a role in that decision.

While the Cardinals continue to speak about the importance of 2025 for various young player's futures, it's fair to say Marmol finds himself in that camp as well. If the young players blossom under his leadership, there's a good chance he is here to stay. If not, my guess is he's out after the season.