6 potential managerial candidates for the Cardinals if Oli Marmol is on the hot seat

The Cardinals may need a managerial chance, and these are six candidates should they go in that direction

There is a boatload of problems with the team right now. Of course, there has been no starting pitching, the offense is up and down, the bullpen can't be trusted and the manager can't be trusted with making the bullpen decisions. Cardinals legend Adam Wainwright is projected to return this weekend but it's up in the air on how much of an impact he will make, and Nolan Arenado has looked uncomfortable at the plate in the last couple of weeks, some believe he is playing through an injury.

Not a whole lot of positives to take away from this current losing streak and there is plenty of theories of why things aren't going well, but I think everyone can agree that something needs to be changed to shake things up. The Chicago White Sox got off to a similar start the Cardinals have gotten off to, and they did a major shake-up at the beginning of the month making 11 roster changes, so it can be done. One easy move a team can make when a team is struggling is to bring a new voice to the dugout, and even though there hasn't been any direct sign from the team that manager Oli Marmol is on the hot seat if the Cardinals continue to underachieve and lose the rumors aren't going away.

If we are just speculating here, and the Cardinals end up deciding to fire Marmol, there are a few possible options that could take over, who are currently with the Cardinals organization.

Bench Coach Joe McEwing

McEwing is in his first season on the Cardinals coaching staff taking over as the bench coach when Matt Holliday opted out shortly after accepting the job this off-season. What makes McEwing a possible candidate is his experience as a coach and as a player. He had a 9-year playing career (the first 2 years with the Cardinals) and before returning to St.Louis was with the White Sox organization coaching in some capacity for the last 15 seasons. McEwing had a successful run as the White Sox's A ball teams manager for 2 seasons, then he was promoted to the Triple-A club as their manager before he spent 11 seasons with the White Sox big club. In the big leagues, he served as the 3rd base coach, bench coach, then 3rd base coach again for Chicago.

Joe McEwing has received high praise from the last Cardinal manager to win a World Series with the team, Tony La Russa. They had a strong relationship when McEwing played for La Russa in 1998 and 1999, then they worked together the past 2 seasons when La Russa came out of retirement to coach the White Sox again. La Russa is quoted back in 2017 saying that McEwing would " be a great manager ".

The one potential concern with McEwing is that he is new to the team, he's not been around these players for all that long. Despite that, his experience speaks for itself, and it could be a breath of fresh air for these guys to have a veteran coach manning the helm.

First base coach Stubby Clapp

Clapp is also a possible option with his experience as a coach, mostly in the Cardinals organization. After a brief MLB career with the Cards in 2001 he got his first coaching job with the Astros A ball team in 2008. He then managed the team for 2 years after a one-year stint being the Astros' Double-A hitting coach. Clapp returned to the Cardinals organization when he was hired to be the manager of the Memphis Redbirds for the 2017 season after spending 2 seasons as a hitting coach for the Blue Jays AA and AAA teams. His 2 seasons coaching the Triple-A squad couldn't have been any better, the Redbirds went 174-107 and were the Pacific Coast League Champions both years and in 2018, Memphis won their first-ever AAA championship. Clapp would be honored as the Pacific Coast League coach of the year in both of those seasons.

After all that success he was promoted to be the Cardinals' first base coach for the 2019 season and that is his current role with this team. What could make him a good fit to be a manager is that he has seen success in the organization as a manager in the minors which could carry over to the big club. Also working with younger players before they got to the MLB can help when it comes to establishing a relationship with younger players and lead them to the right path on what it takes to stay in the major leagues. He coached current Cardinals Paul DeJong, Jack Flaherty, Ryan Helsley, Dakota Hudson, Tyler O'Neill, Genesis Cabrera, Tommy Edman, Giovanny Gallegos, and Jake Woodford in Memphis so there would be a sense of familiarity for those players.

Assistant Coach Willie McGee

This choice is highly unlikely but it would be cool to see. McGee had a long playing career lasting 18 years, 12 and a half of those with the Cardinals. In his Cardinal tenure, he was a 4-time All-Star, a 3-time Gold Glove winner, a 2-time batting champ, a silver slugger, MVP in 1985, and a World Series Champion in 1982. All of these accolades led to McGee getting inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame. He has been in the Cardinals organization post-playing career since 2013, starting in the front office but he has been on the coaching staff since 2018 (excluding 2020 where he opted out) helping with outfield defense and base-running.

What makes McGee a long shot is that he does not have any managing experience, and he has only been in a full-time coaching role for 5 seasons now. One positive he has is his relationship with players, he is always approachable, a great instructor, and a great players coach. The question is whether he could do the strategic side that comes with managing in the MLB. McGee will always be a fan favorite, still to this day he gets one of the loudest ovations from the fans out of anyone, but having him be manager would mostly be up to if he wants that added responsibility.

Honorable mentions: Pop Warner, Turner Ward

Again we're just speculating, but if the Cardinals wanted to look outside of the organization there are options there as well.

Yadier Molina

No surprise here. Lots of Cardinal fans saw Molina as a second manager when he was with the Cardinals. The impact he had on the pitching staff is something that may have been overlooked especially now that he is retired. It's common to see catchers become managers after their playing careers and Molina didn't waste any time in that regard.

We saw Molina manage his native country Puerto Rico in this year's World Baseball Classic just 5 months after officially retiring. Even before he hung up his cleats he coached the Puerto Rico under-23 team in 2018 and in the Venezuelan league last year. The only question would be Molina's interest in managing in the MLB, he has contemplated it in the past but he currently owns a basketball team in Puerto Rico that may affect him fully committing to a manager's role. The Cardinals are missing his leadership in the dugout and behind the plate desperately, it would be a special sight to see Molina back in that dugout someday managing.

Carlos Beltran

How interesting would this be? Beltran was a very popular player in his 2 seasons in St.Louis, and very productive as well. 20 years in the big leagues with 8 different teams, he was one of the best switch hitters and playoff performers in the history of the game. Two possible negatives with Beltran are a lack of coaching experience and the recent controversy.

We thought that Beltran was going to be the manager of the Mets going into the 2020 season, but when the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal shook the league, Beltran's name was mentioned as having a role in the sign stealing which led to a mutual agreement between him and the Mets to step away from their agreed deal.

Beltran has not coached or been interviewed for a coaching job since. He was with the YES network analyzing Yankees games last year and for the 2023 season, the Mets brought him back to work in the front office. Despite this, he has left the door open to managing again, "At this point, I'm OK with where I am. But later on, I don't know." was his response to potentially managing in the MLB. It did not take AJ Hinch and Alex Cora all that long to get managing jobs again after they were suspended by the MLB for their role in the cheating scandal, so it is possible to see Beltran get a second chance to manage, maybe in St.Louis.

There is no guarantee that Oli Marmol is going to be fired, not even close at this point, and there is no guarantee that a change of manager will instantly cure all the Cardinals' problems. This team needs a vocal leader, whether that's a player, coach, or both. This team needs a hard reset to try to turn this historically bad start around, and that reset could potentially be at the manager. Time will tell to see what this front office and ownership does, or doesn't do.