The St. Louis Cardinals could have signed Skip Schumaker had they fired manager Oli Marmol, but they never had a chance.The St. Louis Cardinals could have signed Skip Schumaker had they fired manager Oli Marmol, but they never had a chance.
The St. Louis Cardinals will not fire Oli Marmol unless a winter surprise follows the World Series. St. Louis has ended far behind the eventual NL Central winners in consecutive seasons, falling short of the low expectations set by John Mozeliak and the Cards’ front office.
It may be claimed that Marmol is part of the problem, not the solution. He can be aggressive with players and, in certain situations, has caused trouble with the media. That doesn’t sound like much of a leader to me, but I also don’t manage MLB teams.
Former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who left the team due to philosophical differences, might be a successor for Marmol if he is fired. To summarize these disparities, Schumaker wanted to win, whereas the Marlins were satisfied to avoid investing. That’s not an ideal fit.
While St. Louis is eager to spend to give Cardinals fans a winner, the team is also in turmoil. The front office is anticipated to transition from Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom within the next year, and St. Louis has already fired its director of scouting. Bill DeWitt is getting frustrated since the job security isn’t excellent right now. To be clear, this is good news for Cardinals fans. It indicates that DeWitt is open to make changes. However, those modifications would have likely eliminated St. Louis’ chances of signing Schumaker.
Skip Schumaker never made much sense with the St. Louis Cardinals
According to Ken Rosenthal, when Schumaker left Miami, the Marlins dismissed his whole coaching staff and 70 other employees. That had to sting, and it sent a message to Schumaker. This man requires some consistency, even if it is with a team in the process of rebuilding.
The Chicago White Sox are one example of such a predicament. The Sox were historically awful in 2024 and will not improve anytime soon. Chris Getz appears to be planning to trade Garrett Crochet this winter. The South Siders are practically running out of resources.
What the Sox can provide Schumaker is stability. Getz is not leaving anytime soon. The next manager should be given a long-term contract, as the White Sox are not an appealing franchise right now. Schumaker also knows Tony La Russa, who coached him and now serves as the team’s advisor.
While the Cards made sense in principle, Schumaker’s reality was much from certain.
