JUPITER, Fla. 鈥 Under a blazing Florida sun but not yet out of the shadow of a 91-loss, last-place season, Cardinals executive John Mozeliak sought to keep a brisk pace for Friday afternoon鈥檚 press conference to stay ahead of the inevitable questions and out of the heat.
Sitting two seats down from his boss, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., Mozeliak acknowledged the timing of a contract extension for manager Oliver Marmol might seem unexpected given the results and criticisms they both faced following a dismal season. But why, he explained, delay the inevitable and only create more uncertainty?
鈥淭here was never any doubt in my mind that he was going to be the Cardinals manager (for years to come),鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淏ut you come off the year like we experienced, I think a lot of people would be happy if we鈥檙e both gone.鈥
鈥淥r all three of us,鈥 DeWitt interjected with a laugh.
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鈥淥wners can鈥檛 get fired,鈥 Mozeliak replied.
They do determine who does. And after the press conference, DeWitt did not seek shade as he explained why the worst season during his ownership didn鈥檛 end in dismissals. Instead, he maintained confidence in his front office, stayed true to his prized continuity, and stressed that the group that got into the 2023 bind would get the club out. On Friday, he signed a two-year contract extension through 2026 with his manager to mute speculation on Marmol鈥檚 status, too.
鈥淚f I put the blame on the manager, then I would consider making a change, but I don鈥檛 put the blame on the manager,鈥 DeWitt told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淟ook, none of us had a good year 鈥 me, Mo, Oli, the players, obviously. But that doesn鈥檛 mean you blow something up. Because we鈥檝e had a lot of success. And we鈥檝e had it with those who come through the organization and done a good job on the way up. We鈥檒l continue to follow that model.鈥
He said the traits that got Marmol hired as manager are those same traits ownership now wants leading the team back to contention.
A disappointing season is reason to strategically reassess, not dramatically react, he said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think trying to shake things up with a new individual is something that has a lot of value,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f there was a problem with your manager or how your club is being managed, you address it. And you move on. But, as I said, none of us had a good year last year. That is one year out of a lot of years in all our careers.鈥
What DeWitt and Mozeliak ultimately decided to do entering this year was swat the questions that would swarm around their manager, maybe even infest the clubhouse and gnaw at the season without an extension. The contract would loom over any start to the season 鈥 hot or not 鈥 and possibly detract from what the front office feels has been a sharp, coordinated, and successful spring training. A new contract and its renewed commitment may quiet the noise around Marmol without, but it definitely will guarantee that salary as the pivotal season unfolds.
Promoted to manager from bench coach at the end of the 2021 season, Marmol signed a three-year deal set to end this fall. The Cardinals won 93 games and the National League Central in his first season; they lost 91 and finished last in the National League Central in his second season. Asked in December how he felt entering that third season with an expiring contract, Marmol insisted it was not on his mind and that the business was bottom line: Do well, stay.
His sense it would become a 鈥渄istraction鈥 prompted Friday鈥檚 agreement.
鈥淚 feel like how the offseason evolved, the most important thing for Oli, the coaches, and our players is that we stand behind them,鈥 Mozeliak said. 鈥淲e believe in them, and going into the season 鈥 what鈥檚 the phrase? lame-duck manager? 鈥 just seemed to be the wrong strategy. Given the fact the roster we鈥檝e assembled we believe is going to be competitive and has a chance to be exciting, we didn鈥檛 want something if we have a stumble or get off to a slow start and all of a sudden everybody is looking over their shoulder.鈥
Mozeliak knew they would not have to look far.
He could spot the cause of speculation gathering on the periphery.
He hired one of them.
Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, two of the recently retired Cardinals greats, have expressed an interest in managing in the majors. Pujols recently accepted a job to manage in winter ball in the Dominican Republic this next offseason, and he described a wish to work his way toward managing. Molina has spent the past two winters as a manager, and this year was hired by the Cardinals as an adviser to spend some time with Marmol鈥檚 staff, in uniform. When Molina intends to do that remains unscheduled. At the same time, Marmol鈥檚 former bench coach Skip Schumaker, another former Cardinal, is the reigning National League Manager of the Year for his work with the Marlins.
Mozeliak stressed that he did not come to spring training thinking about an extension for Marmol or waiting to see how spring went to make that determination. As spring neared its end and roster choices loomed, he did not want the contract or the 鈥渄istraction鈥 of it to start factoring into decisions, either from Marmol or his staff.
鈥淎s I would sit in meetings, talk through some things, especially how we have to think about our roster-building decision-making, the one thing I didn鈥檛 want to have happen is someone like Oli have to think about it for 鈥榳in now,鈥 鈥榳in right now鈥 at the expense of the bigger, better decision down the road (in exchange) for the pressure of just winning. And if we knew he was going to be the manager anyway, let鈥檚 just deal with it now and that鈥檚 where we got to.鈥
Marmol, 37, was the youngest manager in the majors when he was hired, and he remains the youngest manager going into his third season. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2007, Marmol has spent his entire professional baseball career within the Cardinals organization. He last played in 2010 at Class A and became a coach the next season. By 2012, he was a manager at rookie-ball Johnson City and began his ascent. When he moved to Mike Shildt鈥檚 bench coach, he was the youngest bench coach in the majors.
Through his ownership, DeWitt has put a heavy emphasis on continuity and the importance of homegrown leaders. All three of the managers Mozeliak has hired since Tony La Russa retired have had ties to the Cardinals, two came up through the system. DeWitt likened Marmol鈥檚 swift rise as a manager to that of a prized prospect.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason for that,鈥 DeWitt said Friday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 talented.鈥
With his wife, Amber, and their two daughters, Oliver 鈥淥li鈥 Marmol has moved to St. 亚洲无码 to call it home, spending most of this past winter in the area, making appearances, and, yes, feeling the pressure rising on the team to prove their 2023 was an outlier, not a trend.
He said calling St. 亚洲无码 home was important to his family.
鈥淢y hope this whole time was that I do this here for a very long time,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a matter of getting to spring training and figuring out if it鈥檚 a good fit. 鈥 When I鈥檓 looking at it 鈥 this position, this seat is the best job in all of baseball. It鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e鈥檝e talked about it quite a bit 鈥 extension or no extension 鈥 the expectations for our organization, for our fan base, is to win,鈥 he continued. 鈥淚 go about it the same exact way one way or another. But I do think it removes certain distractions that allow us to focus on what鈥檚 at hand without having to answer these questions moving forward.鈥