{"id":99216,"date":"2025-04-14T14:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T18:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=99216"},"modified":"2025-04-14T14:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T18:58:09","slug":"cardinals-managerial-uncertainty-oliver-marmol-skip-schumaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/04\/14\/cardinals-managerial-uncertainty-oliver-marmol-skip-schumaker\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cardinals Next Manager Might Already Be in the Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few reports in baseball are as plugged in as Ken Rosenthal. It’s worth paying attention when he raises questions about a manager’s job security. In his recent column for The Athletic<\/a>, Rosenthal spotlighted St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol as a name to watch, not necessarily because of poor performance, but due to shifting power dynamics<\/a> behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cardinals are in an odd place, using the 2025 season to transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom as their head of baseball operations,\u201d Rosenthal wrote. \u201cMarmol, hired by Mozeliak, is under contract through \u201826. It stands to reason Bloom will want his own man. But whom?<\/p>\n

The third-year manager, hired by Mozeliak and under contract through 2026, now finds himself navigating shaky ground in a season where expectations remain high and legends loom large.<\/p>\n

Oli Marmol\u2019s Future Is in Doubt, Cardinals Royalty Are Lurking in the Wings<\/h2>\n

St. Louis is a franchise steeped in tradition, and two of its most iconic players, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, have made no secret of their desire to manage. Both have gained experience in the Dominican Winter League<\/a>, and Molina will manage Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, while Pujols will manage the Dominican Republic<\/a>. Their presence looms over the current regime, creating a delicate decision for Bloom in his first major test as the Cardinals’ new baseball boss.<\/p>\n

Rosenthal notes that Bloom’s experience with Alex Cora in Boston, a relationship reportedly marked by tension, could influence his next move. According to Rosenthal, friends of Bloom believe Cora ‘was not as supportive of Bloom as he could have been,” making it likely that Bloom seeks a manager more in lockstep with his vision.<\/p>\n

Skip Schumaker\u2019s Ties to St. Louis and Potential Reunion<\/h3>\n

Enter Skip Schumaker, another ex-Cardinal with deep ties to the organization. Schumaker does have a proven track record as a skipper in Miami, winning National League Manager of the Year honors in 2023<\/a>. Now, Schumaker works as a senior advisor with the Texas Rangers, potentially in line to succeed Bruce Bochy if the 70-year-old retires. But should Bochy return, Schumaker might view a Cardinals reunion as the ideal landing spot, especially with familiar faces like Daniel Descalo and Jon Jay already on staff.<\/p>\n

There’s even speculation, as Rosenthal suggests, that Marmol could remain on the coaching staff under Schumaker, a rare move, but one that speaks to the complexity of the situation and the tight bonds within the Cardinals’ clubhouse.<\/p>\n

As the Cardinals navigate this pivotal moment, the decision on who will lead the team in the coming years holds significant weight. While Marmol’s future in St. Louis remains uncertain, the potential for a familiar face like Schumaker to step in adds another layer of intrigue. With the pressure mounting and expectations high, Bloom’s choice could reshape the franchise’s direction for years to come.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: \u00a9 Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few reports in baseball are as plugged in as Ken Rosenthal. It’s worth paying attention when he raises questions about a manager’s job security. In his recent column for The Athletic, Rosenthal spotlighted St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol as a name to watch, not necessarily because of poor performance, but due to shifting power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":99217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1071],"tags":[625,1734,6420,3162,522],"class_list":["post-99216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardinals","category-mlb","tag-albert-pujols","tag-alex-cora","tag-oliver-marmol","tag-skip-schumaker","tag-yadier-molina"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99218,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99216\/revisions\/99218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}