There came a point this past spring training when incoming Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom stopped by manager Oli Marmol’s office at the Cardinals complex in Jupiter, Florida, to give Marmol some lighthearted banter.
“I just walked in his office and said I really feel sorry for you,” Bloom said Tuesday at Busch Stadium after being officially introduced as Cardinals president of baseball operations. “(Marmol) said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘It’s bad enough to have to deal with one president of baseball operations, you’ve got to deal with two,’ and he laughed.”
It came to mind for the 42-year-old baseball executive when describing how he and Marmol’s relationship has grown in the lead-up to Bloom’s transition from an adviser to the head of baseball operations following John Mozeliak’s exit from the role.
The quip was one Bloom said he “meant” knowing Marmol’s role in a club in transition.
“I really didn’t want it to be more of a thing for him than it had to be because it’s a hard job as it is. I got to know him, and we talked a lot regularly but we talked more big picture,” Bloom said of his relationship with Marmol. “I told him: I’m here for you. If there’s something you want my take on, you want my opinion, I’ll give it to you, but I don’t want to kind of cross signals, however unintentionally, with (Mozeliak) on the day to day and their relationship. That enabled me to get to know him.”
Bloom confirmed Tuesday that Marmol will return to manage the Cardinals in 2026, the final year of Marmol’s current contract. Bloom said he expects “continuity” from the coaching staff’s personnel but noted there are decisions to be sorted as some conversations still need to be had.
As for Marmol, what lies ahead beyond 2026, once his contract as manager of the Cardinals expires, has not been a part of discussions.
“We haven’t really talked about that yet,” Bloom said in reference to Marmol’s contract status. “I have really enjoyed the relationship that I’ve been able to build with him so far and expect that in this role, I’m also going to enjoy it, and I hope this is something that we keep building on and it keeps going forward. But we really haven’t gotten into that yet.”
Elevated to the role of manager ahead of the 2022 season under Mozeliak after serving as a bench coach during the 2021 campaign, Marmol signed a two-year contract extension ahead of the 2024 season. Marmol, who was present Tuesday at Busch Stadium for Bloom’s introductory news conference, comes off a 78-84 season that emphasized giving young Cardinals “runway” to grow in the majors amid the organizational transition.
Under Marmol, the Cardinals won the National League Central Division in 2022 but have missed the playoffs in each season since. Marmol guided his club to an 83-79 record in 2024 following a 71-91 season in 2023 and ended the 2025 season five games out of an NL wild-card spot and 19 games behind the NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers.
Marmol’s managerial record in 2025 outpaced his expected win-loss record of 74-88, which is calculated using runs scored and runs allowed. The Cardinals ended the 2025 regular season with a minus-65 run differential, a bullpen ERA (3.74) that ranked 10th across the majors and led the majors defensively in outs above average with plus-36, per FanGraphs.
The Cardinals sat at .500 on the day of this past summer’s trade deadline and finished the final two months of the regular season with a 23-29 record after they traded away key veteran relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz for a total of six prospects and as starters around the infield including Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras, Masyn Winn and Nolan Arenado missed time late in the season because of injuries.
As the season progressed and their talks progressed, Bloom said the conversations between he and Marmol touched on where the Cardinals are currently and where the club needs to go in the years to come.
Bloom said he felt “a lot of synergy” with the 39-year-old manager.
“I think we were both looking at this puzzle in a lot of the same ways,” Bloom said.
Bloom, who joined the Cardinals organization ahead of the 2024 season, said his setup as an adviser and soon-to-be president of baseball operations provided a “different perspective” in getting to know Marmol.
Now that he has officially taken over in place of Mozeliak, Bloom expressed confidence in continuing to grow his relationship with Marmol as the former’s role in the front office changes.
“Obviously, there are different seats and there are different pressures with those seats and different things that we each have to navigate, but that was really helpful,” Bloom said. “Now, obviously, it’s going to change as the partnership builds. It’s going to be a little different for each of us with the seat I’m in now, but I’m optimistic about it. I’ve enjoyed working with him.”
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Daniel Guerrero | Post-Dispatch
Baseball writer
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