The Cardinals, in Jupiter, FL on Friday, announced a contract extension for manager Oliver Marmol. The deal runs through 2026.
President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak explained:
"The most important thing for all the coaches and our players is to know that we stand behind them, we believe in them and to go into the season -- What's the, the phrase, like a lame dunk manager? -- it just seemed to be like the wrong strategy given the fact that the the roster we've assembled we believe is going to be competitive, has a chance to be exciting and we just didn't want something if we have a stumble or get off to a slow start."
"All of a sudden, everybody's looking over their shoulders and it's just not fair to everybody involved," Mozeliak said at a Friday news conference.
Marmol is the youngest manager in Major League Baseball.
Cardinals Chairman Bill Dewitt Junior tells KMOX's Tom Ackerman that Marmol has made a rapid ascension and the team wanted to continue that while continuing to monitor his performance.