7 players who should be entering their final days on the Cardinals

Turner Ward

Okay, I cheated. Turner Ward is not a player, but he's the most glaring change I see to the coaching staff that needs to be made this offseason, although other changes could be made as well.

The Cardinals are going to finish the season about where most fans expected them to, slightly above .500, and they are going to do so while having their offense underperform to an alarming degree. If the offense played anywhere near expectations, let alone its ceiling this year, the Cardinals would be a playoff team right now.

While I'm not sure it's fair to say that all of the blame falls on Ward, it is hard to explain how he keeps his job and how poorly things have gone. The Cardinals are among the most disappointing offenses in all of baseball and have been historically bad with runners in scoring position. Any time a team has the talent on offense that the Cardinals have and you can say they were historically bad at something, I think it is fair to wonder what went wrong from a coaching perspective.

If fans want to see a change with pitching coach Dusty Blake or other coaches on the staff, I would understand that and I could see that happening. Personally, I think the pitching staff has mostly played to expectations this year, but I'm also not sure Blake has done enough in his two years to wow anyone either.

As for manager Oliver Marmol, I personally think he has shown a lot of good things as the club's manager this year, but two straight losing seasons is a tough look for the skipper. I think those issues go well beyond Mamrol though and are above his paygrade, which is why I would like to see him back next year. But if real change is coming in St. Louis, well, it may make sense to clean house there as well.

At the very least, I do expect Ward to be let go following the season and for the Cardinals to pursue a new voice in that role for 2025.