ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Cardinals announced Tuesday afternoon the additions of two people to the 2025 coaching staff.
Jon Jay, who played for the Cardinals from 2010 to 2015 will join the Cardinals staff as a coach and in addition, the Cardinals have also announced that Brant Brown has been named the Cardinals new hitting coach.
The announcement of Jay hiring comes a day after Katie Woo of The Athletic first reported Jay would join the Cardinals coaching staff, reuniting with fellow 2011 World Series winner Daniel Descalso.
Jay played six out his 12 seasons in the majors with the Cardinals, helping the Cardinals appear in two World Series in 2011 and 2013, four consecutive NLCS appearances from 2011-2014, winning the 2011 World Series with the Cardinals.
After his playing career ended, Jay served as first base coach on Miami Marlins from 2023-2024.
Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak says bringing back Jay was a hire that "was highly recommended".
"We've known him as a player, relationships go back a long time and we think he will fit in great with our staff," said Mozeliak in a Zoom meeting with reporters Tuesday.
Mozeliak says what enticed Jay a lot was that he wouldn't be stuck in one role on the coaching staff.
"He'll be responsible for outfield defense, but there will be other aspects he gets exposure to as well," said Mozeliak. "He'll have exposure to other elements of the game."
Brown previously served as the bench coach and offensive coordinator for the Seattle Mariners, but would only be on the job for less than six months and was fired in late May 2024 due to the offensive struggles of the Mariners.
Brown will succeed Turner Ward as Cardinals hitting coach. Ward parted ways with the Cardinals after the conclusion of the Cardinals 2024 season that saw Cardinals struggle at the plate, particularly with runners in scoring position.
Prior to taking the role as offensive coordinator with the Mariners, Brown served as the Miami Marlins hitting coach in 2023 and also served a variety of roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners organizations from 2007-2022.
Mozeliak says that they talked to multiple candidates and the candidate pool was very large before reaching a decision on Brown.
"I really like the way he thinks about hitting, his philosophy, how he approaches it and certainly think he will be a valuable asset to our organization moving forward," said Mozeliak.
"I definitely think he brings a lot of energy, there's no doubt about it. That showed up in his interviews, but I feel like the way he thinks about hitting and how he approaches it is going to be a change from where we have been. Keeping with the change model, I think that's healthy for us."
Alongside the announcement of Jay and Brown to the coaching staff, the Cardinals also officially announced that Willie McGee will transition to new role as special assistant to the president of baseball operations.
The announcement of Jay and Brown to the coaching staff comes on the same day the Cardinals also announced the hiring of Rob Cerfolio who will oversee Cardinals player development.
The Cardinals say they still intends to make further additions to its Major League coaching staff for 2025, but Mozeliak says he doesn't envision adding any more uniform personnel at the moment.
"When you think about additions....we have a current position open, which would be like an embedded analyst for the major league staff," said Mozeliak. "As for additional uniform personnel, I don't envision anything at this time, but I will have a face to face meeting with all the coaches beginning (Wednesday) and have a better feel for what those needs might look like."