Ben Johnson departs Cardinals in second minor league manager shakeup

For the second time in a week, the St. Louis Cardinals are making massive changes at one of their top affiliates. Derrick Goold reported that, after the Cardinals announced they were not bringing back Double-A manager Patrick Anderson, now Triple-A manager Ben Johnson will not return to Memphis next season.

As Goold notes in the article for STL Today, Johnson was the winningest manager in Memphis Redbirds history when he came to the organization in 2019. The move to Memphis was a homecoming for Johnson as he grew up in Tennessee and was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in the 1999 draft. His stay with the system only lasted two seasons before he was shipped to San Diego, where he would make his major league debut in 2005. His big-league career lasted parts of three seasons before he wrapped up his playing career in 2010.

Johnson returned to the Cardinals system for the 2019 season when he became the Redbirds manager and he held that position for the past seven seasons. He came to the organization at an interesting time as he had to battle through COVID, a regime change, and a shift towards player development. Now, St. Louis will have to start over at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Ben Johnson's departure leaves the Cardinals minor league system in a sink-or-swim situation

The Cardinals minor league system has consistently been ranked as one of the best in baseball since Chaim Bloom has started his revamp of the player development squad. While it is understandable to not buy fully into prospect hype, the Cardinals system is a little different, seeing as most of their highly ranked players are already in the upper minors. Now, as they approach the brink of another promotion, the players will have to adjust to another voice in the dugout and clubhouse.

Prospects are no strangers to new coaching staffs, especially those players who move quickly through a system and have to play at multiple levels in the same season. This year, though, there are multiple players in Memphis that have been with Johnson for more than one campaign and will now have to adjust to a new manager while also trying to get the call to the bigs. As Bloom and Co look to fill the two managerial openings, they will likely attempt to find someone who can enter into the job seamlessly while keeping the focus on Bloom's long-term plan.

There have not yet been any reports about coaches of interest for the two jobs, but Bloom will probably give the first shot to an internal candidate who has worked with the player development staff in an effort to keep some consistency. Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso have been seen as potential future managers, they do not have that experience yet, but I would be surprised if they made the jump from a big league staff down to the minor league ranks.

Outside of Anderson and Johnson's departures, there has not been much other news about other staff members leaving the organization. The idea of Casey Chenoweth being promoted to the big-league hitting coach job was floated, but the Cardinals felt it better to keep Chenoweth working with the prospects. Even with his success with St. Louis hitters in his time with the organization, the Cardinals want to keep Chenoweth as a voice for the team's overall hitting philosophy rather than send him to focus on just one level.

News about potential candidates and interviews will probably be released in the near future, especially since the minor league season will not be impacted by the impending lockout due to differing CBAs.

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