Oli Marmol, Chaim Bloom address potential contract extension for Cardinals skipper

At the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm Up, team president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom spoke about a potential extension for manager Oliver Marmol. Marmol was asked earlier in the day about a potential extension to stay beyond 2026, but he deferred to Bloom for an answer to the question.

"What time is Chaim on here?" said Marmol jokingly. He affirmed that talks had happened regarding an extension, but Marmol opted to pass the buck to Bloom. "Yes, but I'll let (Chaim) speak to anything that comes along with that. I'll let him run with that one."

Rumors regarding an extension for Marmol popped up in late November, but there wasn't an abundance of substance to said rumors. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals were open at the time to an extension for Marmol. "Marmol's current contract expires at the end of the 2026 season, but the Cardinals and their manager have already had initial conversations about an extension, per multiple sources," wrote Goold in November.

St. Louis Cardinals considering an extension with manager Oliver Marmol.

Marmol is entering his fifth season as the helm for the Cardinals. Up to this point, he has a 325-323 record for a .502 winning percentage. He's brought his team to the postseason only once in his four-year managerial career, but the rosters he's been handed — along with the directives he's been asked to follow — haven't exactly been directed at winning games the last two years.

When Marmol received his first two-year extension after the 2023 season, then-POBO John Mozeliak and team owner Bill DeWitt Jr. spoke about "continuity" being important.

Marmol's entire staff was brought back for the 2026 season. Jon Jay will be a "quality control coach" along with his baserunning and outfield duties. Daniel Descalso will return as bench coach. Dusty Blake will return as the club's pitching coach. Casey Chenoweth, Double-A Springfield's hitting coach, and Kyle Driscoll, formerly a coach with Arizona, were added to the staff as assistant hitting coach and assistant pitching coach, respectively.

Marmol has grown dramatically as a manager since the 2022 season. He had a few blips in his first year, including a scuffle with an umpire and a spat with outfielder Tyler O'Neill, but he's known now as an excellent manager of personalities. Marmol's ability to make in-game decisions, however controversial they may be amongst fans, has developed well. He's able to defend his decisions in post-game interviews with aplomb.

When asked about where he's grown the most as a manager at Winter Warm Up, Marmol recognized the great question and responded by discussing the importance of honesty.

"Honesty plays...I told myself the one thing I'm going to do is be honest. At the end of the day, some days it will play really well, some days it will be frustrating for people, but I'm not going to waver. I'm going to be honest.

"If you do it the right way and you truly care about (the players), you do earn their respect and their trust. Sticking to that (honesty) is important to me."

Chaim Bloom didn't explore the topic of an extension for Oli too deeply, but he did hint at some long-term conversations. "I don't want to go too deep into it in this setting, but generally speaking, it is something I think, generally, there are positives about having a manager in that situation especially with the fact that we are long-term oriented right now," said Bloom.

A potential extension will keep Oliver Marmol at the helm for the next couple of years while the organization figures out a clearer direction. Marmol's history in the minors as a manager should assist him in the near future as he helps lead a 26-man roster that will likely feature 24 players under the age of 30.