The St. Louis Cardinals missed the postseason after finishing 83-79 during the regular season. They may be headed towards a rebuild of sorts, but that doesn't mean they can't make some improvements for 2025.
Recently, the Cardinals announced some changes to their coaching staff. They hired Brant Brown to be their new hitting coach after firing Turner Ward. They also brought in former Cardinals' outfielder Jon Jay.
While they've already announced that manager Oli Marmol will return for 2025, there could still be some more changes.
Even with Marmol having already been announced to return, could the Cardinals potentially go in a different direction and bring back former bench coach Skip Schumaker?
Schumaker recently managed the Miami Marlins and earned National League Manager of the Year honors in 2023. According to John Denton of MLB.com, Brown got a ringing endorsement from Schumaker.
Schumaker played the first eight seasons of his Major League career with the Cardinals. He also served as their bench coach in 2022 before managing the Marlins.
Jay and Schumaker were teammates with the Cardinals for three seasons, and both Jay and Brown worked under Schumaker last year in Miami. Perhaps bringing in some of Schumaker's most trusted assistants could signal that he'll be the next addition.
More evidence for this line of thought can also be traced to the Chicago Cubs hiring Craig Counsell last year while David Ross was still under contract. While these scenarios are unrelated, the Cardinals could pull a page out of their rivals' book.
Hiring Schumaker would be a popular move with the fanbase, as he was well-loved during his time as a player. The Cardinals would also be getting a proven winner.
We'll see what comes next.
More MLB: Cardinals add ex-Marlins hitting coach to staff as rebuild begins
