Mike Shildt is out.
In a stunning move yesterday, the Cardinals fired their manager after three seasons, due to a “philosophical difference.”
Shildt went 252-199 as Cardinals manager since taking over for Mike Matheny in July of 2018. Shildt has led St. Louis to the postseason three consecutive years.
Now begins the search for a new manager. The Cards’ front office has said that they don’t want to rush the process, but also want to have someone selected by mid-November.
So who will take over? In yesterday’s news conference, John Mozeliak stated there were already some internal candidates that he was considering. The most obvious choices are bench coach Oliver Marmol and first-base coach Stubby Clapp.
Marmol has been with the Cardinals since he was drafted as a player in 2007. He never made it to the big leagues, but became a coach in 2011. He managed the Gulf Coast League Cardinals and the Palm Beach Cardinals before ultimately working his way up to the big league staff as the first-base coach in 2017. Marmol became the bench coach in 2019.
Clapp actually played for the Cardinals briefly during the 2001 season. He was named manager of the Memphis Redbirds in 2016 and led them to back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. He was then promoted to the big league staff as the first-base coach in 2019.
Perhaps former Cardinal and current Padres coach Skip Schumaker will receive consideration. He was always a fan favorite in St. Louis and has earned quite the reputation as a coach in San Diego. He’s received a lot of praise for his analytical approach to the game, something the Cardinals front office is looking for in their next manager.
Maybe they’ll look at Rick Renteria, who was let go by the White Sox last year after being a manager of the year finalist in the AL. Perhaps him being replaced by ex-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will come full circle, and he’ll get the job in St. Louis.
Joe McEwing may also garner consideration. The current White Sox third-base coach was considered to fill the role after La Russa left in 2011. According to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat, he’s likely going to receive consideration again.
We can probably expect the Cardinals to have a manager in place come November, but St. Louis needs to make sure they have the right manager lined up if they don’t want to look like fools for firing Shildt.
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