The Cardinals have not had a good season for the third straight year. They are 61-61 entering their series opener tonight against the Yankees. A lot of their problems can be attributed to ownership and the front office. Fortunately, John Mozeliak is stepping away at the end of the year and will be giving way to Chaim Bloom as the Cardinals start their rebuild.
After finding out that Bloom would be taking over in 2026, many fans theorized that Bloom would fire manager Oli Marmol and find his own guy.
I too, was in that camp for a while. I suppose it’s still possible for this to happen, but I would expect that Marmol remains the manager in 2026.
The reason I believe Bloom will keep Marmol is that he has gotten better each year. In my opinion, he’s come a long way since the Tyler O’Neill situation. He even said that he would handle that differently if he could go back.
It’s clear that the players are all in support of him. You don’t ever hear of any tension in the clubhouse. Could Marmol still improve on a few things? Yes, absolutely. But I don’t think the players have any issues with him. He very clearly has everybody’s back, and that’s great.
His managing has also gotten better. Bloom values bullpen management, and over the last two years, Marmol has done an excellent job handling the bullpen. In fact, it has been the strength of this team for the past two seasons.
The way he bridged the gap between the starters and Ryan Helsley has been nothing short of impressive. And now, with Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz all gone, he has seemingly found a formula that works. It’s closer by committee, but he has roles for guys like JoJo Romero, Kyle Leahy, Riley O’Brien, and even Ryan Fernandez.
It didn’t work great on Wednesday, but you’re bound to have some hiccups here and there.
I have honestly been very impressed with Marmol this season. I know some fans still want him fired and expect Bloom to pick his own guy. Again, like I said, it’s possible. But I would advise Cardinals fans to bank on Marmol being in the dugout, at least for 2026.
