6 Cardinals who are fighting for their futures in Spring Training

Oli Marmol is fighting for his future in Spring Training

The 2023 season was miserable. The buck usually stops with the manager. John Mozeliak and the DeWitt family are giving Marmol the benefit of the doubt knowing they didn't spend to have the best available team for Marmol.

Mozeliak and the DeWitt's did some spending, but will it be enough? Most of the issues from 2023 had to do with communication. When he perceived an issue, Marmol quickly threw players under the bus - think Willson Contreras and Tyler O'Neill. Contreras took the brunt of not being Molina to a pitching staff member who wasn't prepared for life after Molina. O'Neill, who puts in the preparation work, was criticized for a perceived lack of hustle around the base paths on a night when it had been raining.

There were other issues regarding communication throughout the season. Publicly criticizing players is generally not a preferred tactic to make them do what you want. Negativity will get you nowhere. Marmol lacked that voice, like Molina or Albert Pujols, to discuss things with players out of the public view.

With Carpenter, Lynn, Gray, Descalso, and Molina around, Marmol and the players have a vocal person with the team in mind. This should help Marmol. There is a concern Marmol won't be able to help himself and revert to publicly criticizing players. The team didn't respond well to it before, and it shouldn't be tolerated going forward.

Marmol has been given some keys to help him going forward. The question remains if he will use those keys to benefit the team.