Could Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina replace Oli Marmol as Cardinals manager?

The St. Louis Cardinals have had a challenging start to the 2024 MLB season. The Cardinals are 18-25 and sit last in the NL Central standings. As a result, rumors of manager Oli Marmol’s departure are heating up. If he and the Cardinals part ways, former players Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina could be in line to replace him.

St. Louis would have plenty of options to choose from if they decide to go with new leadership. One of the most obvious candidates is 2023 Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker, an ex-Cardinals sparkplug. St. Louis could wait until the end of the year to pursue Schumaker. However, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina could be the go-to options, per insight from Jon Heyman.

Both former Cardinals players are said to be interested in the manager position, should it become available. Regardless of what happens, the Cardinals have to find a way to turn things around amid their early-season struggle.

St. Louis lost three of four games to the Milwaukee Brewers in their early May regular season series. Their offensive and defensive struggles were on full display. However, the team has what it takes to go on a run and clean things up.

The Cardinals are coming off pivotal wins against the Los Angeles Angels on May 13th and 15th. St. Louis can ride their momentum into their upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox. If Oli Marmol can get the club on a roll, rumors of his departure could dissipate.

Marmol is not the only on the team going through woes.

Cardinals look to overcome their woes and climb the NL Central

St. Louis recognized that some of their players were struggling early on in the season. Most notably, the Cardinals took keen note of Jordan Walker’s cold slump. Walker batted an average of .155, was responsible for four RBI, and maintained an OPS of .497 through 20 appearances with the team. As a result, the club demoted him to the minor leagues.

The move provoked a heartfelt response from teammate Nolan Arenado. Arenado displayed great empathy for Walker and talked about his impact on the team.

“Jordan Walker is a great kid, man—it’s sad to see him go,” Arenado said, per Benjamin Hochman. “I didn’t know until I got here (Wednesday morning) that I realized what happened. It stinks. You don’t want to see people get sent down and he’s been working in the cage and he’s trying to figure it out. And it’s unfortunate the work hasn’t paid off in the game yet. That’s kind of been everybody so far this year.”

“We’ll miss him; I know he’ll get right and we need him…If there’s one message—I don’t know what they told them—but if there’s one message we can send him is that we need him. And hopefully he gets right and we can make a good run,” Arenado added.

Arenado’s words show that St. Louis has a team that cares about each other. If the Cardinals ban together, they can turn things around and put an end to the new manager rumors.