Cardinals make shifts to coaching staff in aim to better support Oliver Marmol

Oliver Marmol and his staff are here to stay for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026, but Chaim Bloom is making efforts to provide more support to his manager in the first official year of their partnership as manager and president of baseball operations.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reported this week that the Cardinals are retaining their coaching staff, a move that does not come as a surprise to those following the situation closely. However, the club is making a few shifts to Marmol's team in order to better support him and the players in 2026.

The Cardinals are shifting some of their coaching staff around and adding new roles to support Oliver Marmol

Assistant pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer and game-planning coach Packy Elkins will no longer be a part of Marmol's uniformed staff, but the duo will retain roles within the organization in strategist roles. The Cardinals plan to hire a new assistant pitching coach to replace Kiekhefer, as well as add another assistant hitting coach alongside Brandon Allen and hitting coach Brant Brown.

The news did come within 24 hours of the Minnesota Twins hiring Derek Shelton as their new manager, something that Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat pointed out on our podcast, Dealin' the Cards, as further indication that Shelton was a likely addition to Marmol's team if he had not gotten that job.

Woo also reported in this piece that Cardinals' legend Yadier Molina, who spent some time in the Cardinals' dugout this year and has been lobbying for a managerial or coaching role in MLB this season, is likely not going to be joining the Cardinals' coaching staff, but the club is still open to finding a role for Molina elsewhere in the organization.

Marmol continues to get mixed reviews among Cardinals fans, but it is clear that Bloom felt strongly enough about him as a manager to continue their partnership into 2026, and it will be worth monitoring over the next year whether or not Marmol gets an extension, as his contract is set to end after the season. Based on reporting and how the situation has gone so far, it does appear that Bloom is comfortable with Marmol long-term, but perhaps he will keep the door open to a can't-miss candidate hitting the market in the next year. Clearly, the club wasn't motivated by the availablity of Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina just yet.