Jon Jay’s return gives the Cardinals an underrated win before the offseason begins

There's been a lot of conversation surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals this month, and potential front office turnover as clubs around the game express interest in hiring from their group, but an underrated story has been the looming decisions that need to be made on coaches Jon Jay and Pop Warner, who were both on expiring deals.

The Cardinals can breathe a sigh of relief as they have reportedly retained both for the 2027 season.

Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch just reported on X that both Jay and Warner are set to return to the Cardinals coaching staff for 2027. Both had expressed interest in returning, but the confirmation is exciting considering how sought after Jay is expected to be for promotions at some point.

Cardinals' Jon Jay has been a rumored candidate for managerial and bench coach jobs

Over the last few years, Jay's name has been mentioned as a candidate for managerial gigs due to the high reviews he has received during his time coaching with both the Cardinals and the Miami Marlins.

Having former Cardinals Jay and Daniel Descalso hold prominent roles on the Cardinals coaching staff has been a huge boost to the dugout in St. Louis. It's fitting that two prominent members of the "Memphis Mafia" are now pouring into the next generation of Cardinals players, helping develop that winning culture in St. Louis that helped the Cardinals succeed in the 2000s and early to mid 2010s.

In his role with St. Louis, Jay works with the development and coaching of outfield defense as well as baserunning. He's also an important part of helping manager Oliver Marmol lead the ballclub, which is why he's been heavily linked to join Descalso as his bench coach, should Descalso get a managerial gig at some point as well.

Jay's impact has been widely noted by both players and field staff since his arrival in St. Louis. He's going to continue to be a major asset for the Cardinals in 2027 as they hope to improve the outfield defense of both Joshua Baez and Jordan Walker, and Jay is the right guy to get the most out of them. The Cardinals are also hopeful to be a club that can do damage on the basepaths, and while the stolen base numbers haven't been there, their base running value as a club has been strong. That is a testament to great coaching. The Cardinals ranked eighth as a club in baserunning value in 2026.

Warner is now set for his 27th season coaching within the Cardinals organization. He's been with the Major League club in recent years as their third-base coach and is highly respected within the building. While he has not been someone linked to jobs with other clubs, he is certainly a name that the Cardinals wanted to keep around.

Coaching is always important, but getting the right guys in place during these critical years of development for young Cardinals and up-and-coming prospects is key to unlocking the talent they want to build with moving forward.

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