Cardinals manager Oli Marmol receives dubious crown in anonymous MLB survey

The St. Louis Cardinals have been flying high in 2025 under the guidance of fourth-year manager Oli Marmol. Despite enduring a three-game losing skid, the team remains in second place in the NL Central and brandishes a better-than-expected 36-31 record. Given the Cardinals' overperformance this year, it would be logical to assume that many opposing players think highly of Marmol. But according to an article in The Athletic (subscription required), that might not be the case.

In the article, written by Dennis Lin, players around the league were polled on which manager, aside from their own, they would not want to play for. Marmol tied for first place, with 5 out of 40 players choosing the Cardinals' skipper.

Marmol appears to be viewed in a negative light around the league.

Marmol was in decidedly poor company, as the other manager with five votes was the recently dismissed Bud Black, who was at the helm of the historically terrible Colorado Rockies before his firing after 40 games, when the Rockies were 7-33. More surprising was the presence of former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, who currently manages the San Diego Padres and tied for second place with four votes.

Respondents were understandably hesitant to dish out criticism toward other managers around the league, even under the promise of anonymity. The player comment that The Athletic provided Marmol came from a player within the division and didn't exactly pan the Cardinals' manager.

"I don't really know many managers. I'm trying to think of someone in our division, just so I can say someone. Who is the Cardinals' guy? ... Yeah. Just put him down."

Anonymous player

Divisional rivalries aside, a concerning aspect to Marmol's prominent presence in the poll is that players talk to each other, and if any Cardinals are dissatisfied with Marmol, they could very well leak their frustrations to players on other teams, potentially dissuading them from considering St. Louis as a future playing destination.

Some of the votes could stem from the Cardinals' collapse in 2023 and the ensuing fallout. The team jerked Willson Contreras to and fro while throwing him under the bus several times, and on Marmol's end, his public callout of Tyler O'Neill after the outfielder seemed not to give full effort on his scamper to the plate led several members of the media — and likely opposing players — to take notice.

Marmol received a two-year contract extension prior to the 2024 season that will ostensibly keep him in the manager's chair through 2026, but with Chaim Bloom preparing to take full control of the team next season, it's possible that he will clean house and bring in a manager with whom he is more familiar. It's unlikely that an anonymous poll would affect his decision to keep or fire Marmol, but if he does decide to go a different direction, it might turn out to be a good decision in recruiting future free agents to the team if the Cardinals employ a less controversial manager.

The lack of transparency around why players might not want to play under Marmol is frustrating, but it's to be expected. Although it seems that Marmol has generally pulled the right strings regarding his game decisions in 2025, opponents' perceptions of him, fair or not, shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to determining his future within the organization.