The Cardinals just bet big on Oli Marmol — is he the right man for the rebuild?

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed manager Oli Marmol to a contract extension that will carry him through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029. Marmol’s St. Louis career has been quite an interesting ride. He took over after the somewhat bizarre firing of Mike Schildt to helm a team with capital ‘E’ expectations, and is now shepherding a very young team through a rebuild.

That’s the part of this that’s the most interesting to me. Beyond the fan reactions (I think it’s possible Cardinal fans just hate everything right now in their era of discontent) and Marmol’s growth in terms of media relations in his stint in St. Louis, the most important question looms large: Can he do his part to help develop the young players? Don’t limit yourself to simply reflecting on the current roster. By the 2028 season, we could see many names from the factory pumping out premium prospects faster than Emperor Palpatine could clone Jango Fett that Chaim Bloom and his team are building. (There’s room for a Star Wars joke in a newsy piece. Right?)

Evaluating Marmol and the growth of young players

How has he done so far in this kind of work? Like America’s cholesterol levels, it’s been a mixed bag. Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Matthew Liberatore, Alec Burleson, and Lars Nootbaar have been unqualified successes when you factor in their relative draft status and hype as prospects. However, Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman haven’t found their footing yet as high upside power hitters. This is when it gets truly difficult to assess, though – how much of this success or failure rides on Marmol and how much rests at the feet of the players themselves?

This is probably an unanswerable question, but we can glean insight from the way Marmol approaches playing time for young players. It won’t take Cardinals fans long to hearken back to the days of Kotlen Wong being sent back and forth on the Memphis shuttle because Mike Matheny (aka Voldemort) had to have veterans stocking his lineup. Marmol has had his share of veterans – Molina, Pujols, Goldschmidt, Wainwright, and Arenado spring to mind – but has always sought playing time for fledgling Cardinals.

Marmol seems to relish the opportunity to guide the team through this era. There have been numerous reports of a budding relationship between Bloom and Marmol. Marmol has also described the process with this group as a “blast,” and frequently highlights the leadership skills of players like Masyn Winn. He’s also been quoted as casting doubt on whether the Cardinals need to travel Brandon Crawford road for veteran influence in the clubhouse. When things go poorly for players, he’ll also call them out. This will please the “tough love” crowd, but Marmol seems to have more than one gear when it comes to player development.

At 39 years old, Oli Marmol seems to have a generational predisposition towards this group of players. He’s young enough to understand what TikTok is, after all. The Cardinals are expressing an impressive amount of confidence in what are sure to be pivotal years as these baby birds grow. As this decade concludes in the next few years, the relationship of Oli Marmol to the growth and development of young players will be a key nexus point. Let’s all hope he’s up to the task.