When Oli Marmol suggested some of his players did not have a winning mindset, he certainly had a few in mind. Marmol never speaks without a plan in place, and while we can argue all day about whether making such comments public is beneficial, he did so with reckless abandon this weekend.
"I want a clubhouse full of guys that has one thing on their minds, and it's not themselves. It's winning a championship. So, you start out by weeding those out," Marmol said.
Evidently, some players in the St. Louis clubhouse don't put the team first. Given past conflicts, we can take some educated guesses as to who he is referring to. As Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants wrote on Sunday, the time is now to pull those weeds:
"Speculate who you want, but it is clear that management and the front office are looking ahead to 2024 the moment game 162 of the 2023 season is over. The Cardinals have a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to make up to field a competitive team in 2024, but it seems like the first step is to remove the troublesome players currently in the locker room. Once the "weeds" have been removed, outside players can be brought in to beef up the roster."
I will speculate, in fact, and it all starts with an obvious target.
Cardinals on the chopping block: Tyler O'Neill
Tyler O'Neill and Oli Marmol have a feud dating back to the young outfielder's supposed lack of effort in an early April game. St. Louis had started the season hot, but a sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves -- a real contender, I might add -- sent them crashing back down to earth. Marmol blamed O'Neill, in part, because he didn't run hard enough out the gate.
"That's not our style of play as far as the effort, rounding the bag there," Marmol said. "It's unacceptable."
Marmol, rather than speaking with O'Neill privately, took out his frustration with the media. Putting one of your best young players on blast in front of the entire baseball media landscape was a misfire from the fiery manager, and one O'Neill will surely never get over.
"He didn't think I gave the best effort," O'Neill said. "I'm out here every day grinding my ass off, giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for 160 games out here. Like I said, I just got to get a better jump next time and I guess just get around the base a little quicker and be in there in next time."
Marmol doubled down on his comments by refusing to put O'Neill in the starting lineup the next day.
Cardinals on the chopping block: Dylan Carlson
Dylan Carlson hasn't necessarily done anything to make Marmol angry, but it's easy to read through the tea leaves that the former top prospect isn't in St. Louis's long-term plans. Carlson was nearly traded to the New York Yankees at the deadline, after all, and is expected to be a popular target at the winter meetings.
As FanSided's Curt Bishop pointed out last week, a trade or Carlson and perhaps some other proven talent for starting pitching makes sense from the Cards perspective:
"However, Jon Heyman reported that President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak ultimately rejected the Yankees offer, as they did not have any cost-controlled starters to give St. Louis. Still, this is a potential idea that could be revisited in the offseason...The Cardinals know that they'll need to add pitching, and one way they can do that is by potentially clearing the logjam in the outfield. Granted, Carlson alone would probably not get them an ace-level pitcher, but if he were packaged with some pieces, it could work out."
I have no insider knowledge that Marmol was speaking ill of Carlson in this case. What I do know, though, is that Carlson has been shopped many times before, and he likely will be again. Something isn't adding up.
Cardinals on the chopping block: Willson Contreras
Willson Contreras just signed a long-term contract with the Cardinals last offseason, so it seems unlikely that he would be dealt away this winter. However, that doesn't mean Marmol trusts him. A midseason flip-flop of Contreras at the catcher position made it clear that there are some trust issues in the post-Yadier Molina era.
Contreras is a decent defensive catcher, but he can't work with a pitching staff like Molina could. Heck, few can. Contreras has plenty of work to do in that department. However, he's vastly superior to Molina with a bat in his hands, which is where the right-handed hitter makes up for any defensive breakdowns.
Contreras had two roles on this team in 2023 -- catcher and designated hitter. That was the plan developed by Marmol and the front office midseason when they realized that Marmol as backstop alone wasn't good enough for them, as FanSided's Josh Wilson explains:
"Mozeliak also cast the first ounce of blame we've really seen directly put on Contreras from anyone in the organization. He said that Yadier Molina, the team's long-time catcher, developed many nuanced relationships with pitchers over the years and that the staff has appeared uncomfortable this season, with Contreras being the most obvious variable to single out."
That blame game wasn't helpful, but it seems to be an area Marmol and Mozeliak are aligned in. Contreras better watch his back.
