Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol Signed Thru 2026

‘Oli’ Set To Enter His 3rd Season At The Helm For Redbirds

JUPITER, Fla., March 15, 2024 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that the team has signed manager Oliver Marmol to a contract extension through the 2026 season.

“Oli is a well-respected member of the Cardinals organization, who came up through the ranks of our player development system, and has made a nice transition to managing at the Major League level,” state Chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. “We are pleased to have Oli under contract for the next three seasons.”

Marmol, 37, has piloted the team over the past two seasons (2022-23), earning a National League Central title in his first season with a Cards team that won 93 games. It was the team’s first division title since 2019, and at age 36, Marmol became the youngest manager to lead his team to the postseason since 1948 when Lou Boudreau led Cleveland to a World Series title at age 31.

“Over the past two seasons, we have experienced a lot of different emotions, both up and down, and through it all, Oli has helped navigate us through these challenging times,” said President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak. “Oli has the support of our players, our coaching staff, and the front office.”

Marmol has been a member of the Cardinals organization since 2007, first as a player, and then as a coach and manager at the minor league level. He was named to the Cardinals Major League coaching staff in 2017 after managing for five seasons (2012-16) in the minors. Oli was named the 51^st manager in Cardinals franchise history on October 25, 2021. He has compiled a 164-160 career managerial record in his first two seasons with the Cardinals.

Oli was recognized by the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) as their “Good Guy” award recipient in 2015, and for Outstanding Achievement in 2022 when he finished 4^th in National League Manager of the Year voting. He was named the Cardinals organization’s recipient of the prestigious George Kissell Award in 2013 for excellence in player development.

— STL —

How do you reward your manager after a 91 loss season and breaking a 15 year streak of winning records? Why, a 2-year extension of course.

It’s puzzling. They could have started the season under the current contract and see how things go. If things are going well and the Cardinals have playing up to expectations, then extend him in August. But what happens if the Cardinals get to the All Star break at 38-52 again? What if Oli still doesn’t out pitcher workloads and runs out the wrong guys everyday again? They’ll have to eat some money.

Look, Oli isn’t a horrible manager; he’s not perfect, but he also wasn’t helped by the front office last season, nor some of the “veteran leadership” that the club thought they had. If he turns the team around, more power to him; it would be worth an extension after he’s proved it.