Cardinals' Oli Marmol Shuts Down Possibility Of External Additions Despite Slow Start

St. Louis doesn't appear to be interested in making any moves

Feb 19, 2024; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) talks to reporters at / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves sitting in last place in the National League Central again after back-to-back series losses last week.

To make matters worse, the Cardinals were only able to pull off one win in a three-game series over the weekend against the Chicago White Sox -- who are now tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst record in Major League Baseball at 8-26.

As St. Louis continues to struggle, fans are beginning to lose hope in their cherished team. Some wonder where the franchise is going and manager Oli Marmol's recent comments shed light on the direction of the Cardinals' future.

"These are the players we’re going to win with,” Marmol told the media after Sunday's 5-1 loss to the White Sox, as transcribed by the Athletic's Katie Woo. “We have to get them going.”

In other words, do not expect St. Louis to be active in the early trade market or scouring the waiver wire for external additions to the lineup.

The biggest hindrance to the Cardinals' success this year has been the offense -- which has produced only 118 runs, the second-fewest scored by any team this season.

The front office did not predict the lineup to struggle this badly going into this past offseason and was more focused on retooling the pitching staff -- which has performed much better than it did in 2023.

Only Nolan Arenado and Wilson Contreras are hitting above a .700 OPS. Key sluggers such as Paul Goldschmidt, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar are all in a slump and don't look like themselves at the plate.

For now, it looks like the plan for the Cardinals is to ride out the storm and hope that the lineup can figure it out. Hopefully, the returns of Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman and Matt Carpenter will help the club turn things around.

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