Cardinals name Oliver Marmol as new manager
The St. Louis Cardinals announced Oliver Marmol as the team's next manager on Monday.
"I'm pleased to announce that Oli Marmol will be the 51st manager," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said, according to Derrick S. Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"We believe (he) has strong managerial skills that will allow the Cardinals' success to continue."
The 35-year-old Marmol has served as St. Louis' bench coach since the beginning of the 2019 season. The former middle infielder has been with the organization since being selected in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft.
Marmol played in the minors until the end of the 2010 campaign. He then became a coach in the Cardinals' system, eventually working his way up to first base duties with the major-league club in 2017.
Marmol's hiring comes less than two weeks after St. Louis surprisingly fired Mike Shildt, citing "philosophical differences" between the organization and the 2019 NL Manager of the Year.
On Monday, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak clarified Shildt's firing was because of "internal issues that could not be resolved," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Ben Frederickson.
Shildt was a rare skipper who had no playing experience at any professional level. The 53-year-old managed the club starting midway through the 2018 season, leading the Cardinals to three straight playoff appearances and boasting a 252-199 record.