The St. Louis Cardinals are facing major organizational changes, including the possibility of firing current manager Oli Marmol. According to a new report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, club legends Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina may be interested in the show.
First of all, this report feels more like a “connect the dots” than a legitimate exercise. Mamlol’s seat has never been hotter and many fans would like to see a change as soon as possible, but Marmol remains the team’s coach for the remainder of the 2024 season and possibly beyond. There is still a good chance that it will continue.
But at the same time, the situation in St. Louis is dire, and if the owners want to make sure fans will attend games this season, they’ll need one of the most iconic players in franchise history, either Pujols or Molina. Maybe going back to the director might work. .
As Heyman noted, Molina and Pujols have expressed interest in management at some point. Molina currently serves as an advisor to Director of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, but has not yet appeared in an official capacity as the club wanted him to play a key role this year. It’s no secret that Molina wants to run a business someday, but it’s not entirely clear if he can make that promise any time soon.
Pujols has expressed interest in coaching himself, and has already started gaining experience by playing in the Dominican Winter League, much like Molina has recently. I imagine both players would strongly consider making the leap if the Cardinals job becomes available either immediately or after the 2024 season.
Still, for now, this is still highly speculative and depends on a lot of circumstances. First, the club would actually have to part ways with Marmol, and in doing so would likely need to strongly consider moving on from Mozeliak. These are franchise-altering decisions, and there’s no telling if they’ll thread that needle while hiring one of those players midway through the season.
Second, whoever the president of baseball operations is, it’s clear that Mozeliak won’t be in that role beyond the 2025 season, so that also needs to be taken into account. If Chaim Bloom gets the job, would he prefer a more established director like Skip Shoemaker? only time will tell.
And, of course, the Cardinals will depend on Pujols and Molina’s willingness and willingness to jump into this club. Again, there should be strong interest on both sides, but it’s hard to really know until the move actually happens.
