5 Cardinals players that are doomed with Oli Marmol returning in 2024

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The 2023 season Cardinals made it easy to see that manager Oli Marmol likes to play favorites, even to the team's detriment. Whether it be overuse or not using the player at all, Marmol made questionable decisions that led to a nightmare season ending with a 71-91 record for the last-place team.

While it seems inevitable that Marmol will be back in 2024, it's still being determined who from the coaching staff will return. Fans seem excited at the prospect of legendary catcher Yadier Molina returning to the team as a coach. And while that will be great, other changes must be made to avoid the pitfalls of 2023. If the Cardinals decide to keep Dusty Blake as their pitching coach for analytics reasons, they must add a coach to help with the mental aspect of pitching.

Having a manager with passive-aggressive tendencies combined with a pitching coach who goes strictly by analytics isn't the best of combinations, so getting some help there would be tremendous. This would be another area where adding Molina would help this club.

As things stand now, some players will be doomed before the season begins in 2024. Let's discuss those players.

Tyler O'Neill is doomed with Marmol returning as manager

And that would be why he is viewed as one of the leading trade pieces the Cardinals have available.

The 2023 season started rough as Marmol publicly criticized O'Neill for a perceived lack of hustle. Even after O'Neill spent time in the offseason re-working his routine to add speed and implement strategies to help him stay healthy and on the field, Marmol took the time to criticize O'Neill to the media. It was a shocking move for Marmol. O'Neill is the kind of guy who puts his head down and gets to work for the team's betterment. He did not take the public criticism well, telling the media he preferred that conversation stay between the two men.

O'Neill had many injuries that derailed his season plans to play more. But after the public spat, it became apparent Marmol wanted to use anyone else to play left field, including Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, and Brendan Donovan.

The hope is for O'Neill to be moved this offseason. If not, O'Neill may be the bearer of more gruff from Marmol and would have to ride things out until the trade deadline or offseason when he does become a free agent. Either way, this offseason is essential for O'Neill to get his career back on track.

Dylan Carlson is doomed with Marmol returning as manager

Carlson has had since 2020 to show the Cardinals what kind of player he can be for them. Unfortunately, due to a lack of consistency and some lingering health issues, Carlson has been unable to really show off what he is capable of producing.

Even when healthy, Marmol would place anyone but him in centerfield, including Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman, in one of the more shocking moves last season. While it was understandable that it would be an excellent time to see what other options were available in centerfield, Carlson has been a prime trade candidate. But Carlson is rehabbing from an ankle surgery this offseason. Any team that pulls the trigger on a trade for Carlson now is taking a huge gamble that he heals appropriately from the surgery.

Fans have been skeptical of trading Carlson, fearing he will become the next Randy Arozarena or Adolis Garcia. The Cardinals hope to flip Carlson for a mid-level rotation-caliber starting pitcher. If the Cardinals can do that with success, Cardinal fans should be excited about the possibilities. We gave five potential destinations for Carlson on the site last week.

Andre Pallante is doomed with Marmol returning as manager

Pallante debuted with the Cardinals in 2022, bypassing AAA Memphis and going straight to Memphis after an impressive Spring Training. Pallante stepped up and pitched well in his first season but seemed to have a sophomore slump in his second season. He almost seemed overused by Marmol.

In his first season, he split time between starting and relieving. In 2023, he was primarily a relief pitcher. He was 4-1 over 62 games and 68 innings. He had an ERA of 4.76 and 43 strikeouts. It often seemed he was never put in a situation where he would be successful. After his success in that first season, you would think Marmol would place him in better situations to help the team. Instead, the 25- year-old was struggling. Granted, there was a new pitching coach in Dusty Blake and a new catcher in Willson Contreras. This could, indeed, be part of the struggles Pallante had.

Pallante has already started making improvements for himself. He's developing a "death ball" that should be a helpful pitch addition to his arsenal. The death ball is a faster curveball that has a later drop. It should be impressive to watch.

Giovanny Gallegos is doomed with Marmol returning as manager

Gallegos is so fun to watch when he is on and pitching effectively. But it is evident to fans when he is used overused and not on his game. The manager, however, seems to just keep him in during these situations. Think of all the times Marmol kept Gallegos in a game to go an extra inning and ended up taking one for the team after running out of gas.

Gallegos is talented and has so much potential but it almost seems Marmol and Blake don't know how to use him effectively.

He was 2-4 in 56 games in 2023. He pitched in 55 innings with a 4.32 ERA. He did strike out 59 batters. When in 2022, he was 3-6 over 57 games. He had a 3.05 ERA, throwing 73 strikeouts over 59 innings.

Cardinals president John Mozeliak has plans for the bullpen this offseason, wanting to get at least two relievers and start pitching. If Mozeliak can accomplish this and take some pressure off Gallegos and Pallente, that would be impressive.

Nolan Gorman is doomed with Marmol returning as manager

Gorman's potential career year was cut short due to injury. But when he was healthy, it seemed like Marmol was hesitant to play the guy. Even though Gorman was hitting and creating some moment for the Cardinals, it still seemed Marmol would rather play Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, or even Taylor Motter.

Motter playing over Gorman was genuinely bothersome.

In 119 games, Gorman hit .236/.328/.478 with an OPS of .805. He scored 17 doubles, 27 home runs, 59 runs, and 76 RBIs. It was a fantastic pace that got interrupted due to lower back issues. Gorman is one of the top young stars in the organization but doesn't get treated like it by Marmol. And it's anyone's guess as to why. The young man can hit for power, and he's in his second season of playing second base after he just picked up the position when Nolan Arenado was traded to the organization. He has worked his tail off to contribute to the team and seems to need to gain the respect of a top talent in the organization.

As things stand for now, Gorman will face some competition at second base with Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan, but he'll still have the opportunity to be the designated hitter. At least Motter has moved on. Marmol won't sacrifice talent for whatever Motter brings to the table.

Gorman should have a healthy offseason, making him well-rested and ready for an even better 2024 season. Hopefully, he makes it so hard for Marmol to consider removing him from the lineup. Marmol seems to have to be forced into playing certain players sometimes, so hopefully, Gorman makes a strong case for himself.

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