ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Turner Ward's time with the St. Louis Cardinals has appeared to come to an end.
According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals are parting ways with Ward, who has served as the Cardinals hitting coach the past two seasons.
Assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen, along with game-planning coach Packy Elkins, and first-base coach Stubby Clapp are expected to remain on the Cardinals coaching staff next year, according to Woo.
Ward joined the Cardinals for the 2022 season as assistant hitting coach and would become hitting coach for the Cardinals for the 2023 season after the departure of Jeff Albert, who served as the Cardinals hitting coach from 2019-22.
During Warner's time as Cardinals hitting coach, it was a mixed bag. Overall, the Cardinals lineup from 2023-2024 was middle of the pack posting a weighted runs-created plus (wRC+) of 101, and slashed a overall line of .249/.319/.404 and smashing 374 home runs overall.
However, 2024 was a pretty disappointing year for Cardinals hitting, which saw the Cardinals post an overall OPS of .703, which was the sixth-worst in the National League.
The Cardinals offensive issues were significantly notable with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals OPS of .644 with runners in scoring position was the third-worst in baseball, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays and their wRC+ of 80 with runners in scoring position was only ahead of the White Sox.
Prior to joining the Cardinals, Ward served as a Major League hitting coach for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2016-18 and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2014-15.
According to KMOX Sports Director Tom Ackerman, the Cardinals do not typically announce coaching changes until they have their full coaching staff in place, so there's no announcement from them just yet.