JUPITER, Fla. — Recognizing the questions and uncertainty his contract would invite around and even with the team as the regular season opened, the Cardinals moved Friday to affirm their support of manager Oliver Marmol.
Shortly after praising the structure and atmosphere at spring training and his leadership role in it, the Cardinals front office announced a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season for Marmol.
During a press conference Friday, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. explained how he valued "continuity" and that Marmol was the leader he wanted to continue steering the team out of last year's last-place finish.
"As we got into camp, just seeing how things were working, really felt like things were being run well," said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. "And did not want to go into the year with this being a distraction for Oli, for the staff, or for the players. Ultimately we have a lot of faith in him. We believe he’s the right person for this job and we’re excited to know he’ll be here for the next few years. It was important for us to get this done. And we’re glad it’s behind us. We look forward to a future with Oli."
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Marmol was entering the final year of his contract, and an extension assures that he opens the year without the unknown or any of the chatter that would start if the team got off to a slow beginning.
The Cardinals are coming off one of the worst seasons in 30 years and a last-place finish with 91 losses. Throughout that season and into spring training this year, Cardinals ownership and the front office have expressed confidence that Marmol is the manager to lead them back to contention, back to the brand expectations of championship baseball.
On Friday morning, Mozeliak expressed how well the camp had gone and mentioned specifically the job Marmol had done to set an early tone, especially as they "turned the page" from last season.
When asked about his contract, Marmol has steadfastly maintained that he was not concerned about it. He told the Post-Dispatch in December: "If you're good enough, they keep you."
Mozeliak said he wanted to finalize the extension during spring training to avoid the contract "becoming a distraction."
At the same time Marmol entered the final year of his contract, peripheral moves have involved former Cardinals who have either expressed interest in being a major-league manager or had success doing so. Yadier Molina, who has been managing in winter ball and said he wants to someday manage in the majors, was hired as a senior advisor to the front office. Albert Pujols accepted a role managing a club in the Dominican Winter League for 2024-25 and said he wanted to work his way toward managing in the majors.
On the other side of the Cardinals' spring training complex, Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is coming off a year he won the NL Manager of the Year award.
Schumaker served as Marmol's bench coach in 2022.
The Cardinals promoted Marmol from bench coach to manager after the 2021 season, and Marmol became the youngest manager in the majors. Marmol, now 37, was drafted by the Cardinals in 2007 and he has spent his entire professional career with the Cardinals organization. He moved from player to coach after the 2011 season.
"On my end," Marmol said at the press conference to reveal the new deal, "this is an awesome day. I mean to have the support of Mo and Mr. DeWitt means a lot to my family and myself. When I'm looking at it, this position, this seat is the best job in all of baseball. It's one of the top jobs in all of sports. When we had the discussion and talked about what the next couple of years look like, it felt right."Â