In his final press conference of the season, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol had a specific needs list for this offseason. While team president of baseball operations John Mozeliak is concentrating on pitching, pitching, and more pitching, Marmol hopes to have a team filled with team-focused people.
While Marmol wasn't specific about who he wants to see gone for being focused more on themselves than the team, he has been vocal over the season when he didn't care for a player — think Tyler O'Neill and perceived lack of hustle incident.
It can not be suitable for morale to have Marmol going to the media when he wants to air a grievance about a player. In most professional settings, such criticisms are kept behind closed doors and handled between manager and player. Given Marmol's propensity for comments about his players to the media that should be held between manager and player, it is surprising that this hasn't landed Marmol in the hot seat with Mozeliak.
But the offseason is young, and it promises to be a busy one for the Cardinals. Yes, the Cardinals will concentrate on upgrading their pitching, but plenty of other changes, including coaching and support personnel, could be in the works.
Let's discuss who won't be back next season now that it's obvious Marmol isn't going nowhere.
5. Mike Girsch won't be back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024
Girsch is the vice president and general manager of the Cardinals and could be up for one of the executive openings this offseason, specifically the president of baseball operations post for the Boston Red Sox.
Chaim Bloom was fired as the Red Sox executive on Sept. 14.
Girsch was promoted to GM in 2017, and his current contract runs through 2025. Girsch's responsibilities include handling the day-to-day work of the team, including coordinating the efforts of the team's baseball development group, contract negotiations, player evaluations, and player transactions. He has been instrumental in the Cardinals analytics operations, serving as the team's director of baseball operations from 2008-11. He was assistant GM from 2011 - 2017. He joined the Cardinals as a coordinator of amateur scouting in 2006.
Girsch may want to wait until 2025 to possibly take over as Cardinals president of baseball operations, or he could move for a more prestigious position now with the Red Sox. Learning if he is a candidate for the post will be interesting.
Randy Flores is currently assistant general manager and director of scouting and would be a prime candidate for Girsch's current role and, eventually, president of baseball operations. Flores is quite popular within the organization for his work in scouting for the MLB draft.
4. Dusty Blake won't be back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024
The Cardinals replacing long-time pitching coach Mike Maddux with Dusty Blake was questionable when the move was first announced. Blake was a pitching analyst in the Cardinals analytics department and a college coach before that.
Blake was heralded for explaining how the players could apply the analytical information they reviewed to improve their performance on the mound. Considering how poorly the Cardinals' pitching staff performed this season, Blake's knowledge may have fallen on deaf ears.
It's expected there could be some changes in the team's support staff, which should mean the Cardinals find an actual pitching coach that can do exactly what the Cardinals want in explaining analytics and how it helps with their performance on the mound every fifth day. The Dusty Blake experiment was intriguing but honestly doomed for failure.
3. Tyler O'Neill won't be back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024
O'Neill getting traded or non-tendered a contract would be the least surprising move of the Cardinals' offseason.
An oft-injured yet scrappy slugger, O'Neill has had a target on his back since early in the 2023 season. O'Neill was the first target in Marmol's mission to criticize players publicly. Marmol accused O'Neill of not hustling as he was rounding third base, eventually not scoring. O'Neill, who prides himself on working hard, did explain he held up due to poor field conditions after rainy conditions. He was passionate last offseason about remaining healthy so he could be available for the team more.
O'Neill was upset with Marmol's public criticism, noting it should have been handled between the two outside the spotlight. Soon after Marmol's public criticism, he had multiple stints on the injured list with lower back issues. Injury, combined with an apparent loss of trust, seems to have soured their relationship, but O'Neill was given plenty of opportunity when he was healthy to show his worth.
It could happen by trade or just moving on, but O'Neill will not be back with the Cardinals next season.
2. Dylan Carlson won't be back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024
Carlson was once the top prospect in the Cardinals organization. Since his 2020 debut, he has failed to show off the talent of a top organizational player.
Carlson's season ended earlier than expected as he was placed on the injured list multiple times. It was finally announced in September that he would have ankle surgery to clear painful bone spurs. He is expected to be fully recovered by the start of Spring Training 2024.
While the Cardinals could go ahead and sign him to help in his recovery process, Carlson will likely be traded. Carlson was the subject of trade talk for much of the lead-up to the trade deadline. Carlson did make some efforts to show off his talent, but the injury bug bit him like it has seemed to for the past couple of seasons.
While Carlson's potential is something to consider, the injuries have become frustrating. Lars Nootbaar has been an excellent centerfielder for the Cardinals, while utility man Tommy Edman has looked great. Richie Palacios has had a couple of successful games in center field but has found the most success in left field, where Carlson doesn't play. Right field is another position Carlson has played. Top talent Jordan Walker has taken over the right field. Having a veteran outfielder with some power in the Cardinals fold would be great. It makes it easier to see that Carlson will not be back with the Cardinals in 2024.
1. Jake Woodford won't be back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024
It's amazing that Woodford was consistently given the opportunities to be a fifth or even sixth starter for the Cardinals. Incredibly, Mozeliak and Marmol thought it was a better idea to give a pitcher like Woodford a shot at keeping a spot in the Cardinals' rotation rather than getting an actual proven arm that could provide consistent innings and strikes.
In 15 games pitched in and eight games started, Woodford was 2-3 with an ERA of 6.23 over 47.2 innings pitched. While striking out 29 batters in that time, he also gave up 33 earned runs, 34 runs, 11 home runs, and walked 22 batters.
Woodford's season ended with him being optioned to the Florida Complex League on Sept. 30.
Woodford's first season of arbitration eligibility will be this offseason. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Cardinals non-tender Woodford. He has wholly shown the kind of pitcher he is after four seasons. It is time to move on.
