On the same day that Adam Wainwright confirms he is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, we learn that two other elder gents are not going to be returning.
Both of the Cardinals’ hitting and pitching coaches are out:
Why are they leaving? Well, they weren’t really fired, but it also seems like the Cardinals weren’t going to fight too hard to keep them? The official explanations:
So, both guys were becoming free agents, and the Cardinals were maybe kinda interested in retaining them, but not super interested? It is therefore not a firing, but it’s definitely the Cardinals’ front office being OK with making a change. Doesn’t sound like everyone out there who covers the Cardinals expected this, so I wonder if there’s anything else going on behind the scenes.
Albert has been the Cardinals’ hitting coach since the 2019 season, and Maddux has been the pitching coach since the 2018 season. Good or bad, this is going to mark a significant change on Oliver Marmol’s coaching staff heading into 2023.