Oliver Marmol challenges Cardinals' young core to step up with uncertain future

The St. Louis Cardinals did what many considered to be the bare minimum at Thursday's trade deadline, but fans may have gotten an answer to a question that remained after the inactivity. After failing to deal away any of their position players despite depth at multiple positions that could have filled holes elsewhere on the roster, John Mozeliak might have left manager Oliver Marmol with his offensive core of the future.

Manager Oliver Marmol believes current position player group is "core of the future" for Cardinals.

Marmol is signed through next season, but his future with the organization is unclear, as Chaim Bloom will take over baseball decisions once John Mozeliak officially steps away. Even with that uncertainty, Marmol is still taking a leadership role as he looks to continue the development of their young players. The manager is still polarizing among fans, but it is clear he wants his team to continue fighting to change the path of the organization. Speaking with John Denton, Marmol said that he spoke with every player individually before meeting with them as position groups to raise expectations for the team moving forward.

Whether intentional or not, Marmol also brought attention to the fact that the current position player group appears to be the one the organization will roll out again for next year and beyond. This group is without Nolan Arenado, who hit the IL at an interesting time, and includes Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar, two oft-mentioned trade candidates who just returned from injuries of their own. Mozeliak noted that the team fielded calls for their lefty bats, but nothing materialized, and it would be up to future decision-maker Chaim Bloom to figure out how to manage any potential roster issues.

Coming into the season, Victor Scott II defined this team as "youngry," and early in the season, fans got to see that energy with multiple comeback wins and exciting moments. As the year dragged on, however, so did the offense, and the team has been in a lull that lasted the entire month of July, which forced the seller decisions at the deadline. That selloff took three relievers from the current roster and left the entire position player group intact. Marmol continued in his conversation with Denton and noted that "we’re investing in a group that is what our future is going to look like" after also pointing out that their current lineup is what's next for the Cardinals.

Now that Marmol and the Cardinals organization have put it out there that they believe in this crop of talent, they expect the players to take their game to the next level on and off the field. While the lineup is still young, it is full of players who have been around the team since the beginning of their careers and should take on more ownership of the team. Guys like Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Masyn Winn have the potential to become those voices for the hitters. The pitching... well, that's another story.