The St. Louis Cardinals have signed manager Oliver Marmol to a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season, the team announced at a press conference Friday. Marmol was entering the final guaranteed year on his contract.
"Oli is a well-respected member of the Cardinals organization, who came up through the ranks of our player development system, and has made a nice transition to managing at the major-league level," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. "We are pleased to have Oli under contact for the next three seasons."
Marmol, 37, is entering his third season as Cardinals manager. The club won 93 games and the NL Central in 2022, though they were quickly swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series. St. Louis then crashed badly in 2023, posting a 71-91 record that was their worst since going 62-81 during the strike-shortened 1995 season. It was their first 90-loss season since 1990.
Given the poor showing last season, it was believed Marmol would enter 2024 on the hot seat, or at least on the lukewarm seat. The Cardinals added franchise icon Yadier Molina as a special advisor role in December, and he will be in uniform and in the dugout at times this year. It was easy to believe Molina was being primed to replace Marmol in the manager's chair.
Of course, Molina could still replace Marmol one day, though it seems that day is not imminent. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has stood behind Marmol since he was hired and through last year's disappointing season. With the extension, Mozeliak and Cardinals ownership have doubled down on their manager.
"Over the past two seasons, we have experienced a lot of different emotions, both up and down, and through it all, Oli has helped navigate us through these challenging times," Mozeliak said in a statement. "Oli has the support of our players, our coaching staff, and the front office."
The Cardinals have not had back-to-back losing seasons since 1994-95, two years shortened by the players' strike. The Cardinals have not had back-to-back losing seasons in full seasons since 1958-59, incredibly.
St. Louis will open the 2023 season in Los Angeles against Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers on March 28.
