St. Louis Cardinals Extend Oliver Marmol

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed manager Oliver Marmol to a two-year contract extension, through 2026. Marmol, 37, was in his final contract year. Marmol had one of the worst seasons as a Cardinals manager since 1990 in 2023. The Cardinals were 71-91. In 1990, the Cardinals were 70-92. Not all of 2023 is because of Marmol. It's more on John Mozeliak. People knew the Cardinals needed to upgrade their pitching going into the 2023 season. 

Instead of upgrading the pitching, all Mozeliak does is sign Willson Contreras. Mozeliak thought that the pitching would be fine, and everyone would be able to repeat their seasons from 2022. The problem is that doesn't happen much in sports. Players will have seasons where they aren't as good for whatever reason. Injuries happened and the Cardinals didn't have the depth to cover innings. 

Overall, Marmol has managed 2 seasons in the MLB. Marmol has managed 324 games and has a record of 164-160 with a .506 winning percentage. In the playoffs, Marmol is 0-2. 

Marmol had his best season in 2022. That season, the Cardinals were 93-69 with a .574 winning percentage. The wins and winning percentage were both career highs for Marmol in his managerial career. 

The Cardinals knew they couldn't go into the season with Marmol as a lame duck. Especially when Marmol shouldn't be blamed for everything from 2023. It's more on Mozeliak than Marmol. To me, Marmol still could be fired if the team were to do badly. Mozeliak would probably be with him, if that happened. To me, Mozeliak should go first. I also think the Cardinals could have waited a few months before giving Marmol his contract extension. Like why not have them start the season out well and then give Marmol the contract extension? Wouldn't that make a little more sense?