Cardinals part ways with hitting coach Turner Ward, retain Brandon Allen

According to Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required), the St. Louis Cardinals have parted ways with hitting coach Turner Ward. Assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen will retain his role for next year.

Ward, 59, was promoted to the team's hitting coach prior to the 2023 season. He was previously an assistant hitting coach for the organization. Ward is most known for his close connection to free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. He was the 5th hitting coach for the team since 2010, and he's been the most maligned of the bunch. Ward's predecessor, Jeff Albert, left the team after the 2022 season due to outside criticism from the fanbase.

Under Ward's leadership, the Cardinals have had a fairly average offense in baseball. Since the start of the 2023 season, the Cardinals have had the 17th-best wRC+ in baseball (101), the 16th-best OPS (.723), and the 16th-best wOBA (.315). While those aren't terrible numbers, the offense was supposed to be the best portion of the roster. Additionally, the Cardinals boasted one of the best offenses under prior hitting coaches.

While they've largely been a league-average offense in this time span, the biggest flaw with the offense has been with runners in scoring position. Since 2023, the Cardinals have the 4th-worst OPS with runners in scoring position (.703), the 6th-worst wRC+ (92), and the 4th-worst batting average (.238). The offense's inability to cash in on run-scoring opportunities these past two years has been detrimental to the team's overall success.

There are several candidates who could replace Ward as the Cardinals' hitting coach, but the decision will likely take some time.

This is the first coaching change of the offseason for the Cardinals. At Monday's press conference, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak stated that manager Oli Marmol would return in his current role for the 2025 season. It is expected that assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen will return in the same role for next year, too. Game-planning coach Packy Elkins and first-base coach Stubby Clapp, who both have contracts that are set to expire, are expected to return for next year.