photo: Brant Brown (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals will have a new hitting coach in 2027 as Brant Brown was let go after two years. The World Series continues, followed by award season. Our history feature highlights memorable happenings this week in team annals.
Cardinals remove hitting coach
In a somewhat surprising move this past week, the St. Louis Cardinals announced they have moved on from Brant Brown, their hitting coach the past two seasons.
This came following a 2026 season in which the Cardinals’ offense finished in the bottom third of teams in key offensive measures, including 29th of 30 teams in both OPS and SLG.
Brown, 55, was the third hitting coach to either leave or be let go under manager Oliver Marmol. Brown was hired after the 2024 season to replace Turner Ward, with whom the Cardinals parted ways after two seasons. Prior to Ward, Jeff Albert held the position. Albert, who was inherited from Mike Shildt’s staff, chose to leave of his own accord after the 2022 season, Marmol’s first as manager.
Brown was an outfielder for the Cubs, Pirates, and Marlins from 1996 through 2000. He also played in the minor leagues for both the Brewers and the Cardinals in 2001. He began his coaching career in the minor league systems of the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He served one season as the hitting coach for the Marlins and was briefly the bench coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2024. The Cardinals hired Brown as hitting coach on October 22, 2024.
The Cardinals have not finalized the coaching staff for the 2027 season. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, who broke the Brown news, the team is expected to retain the majority of the staff. However, it is unclear where the assistant hitting coaches stand, Brandon Allen and Casey Chenoweth.
Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch reports that Jon Jay and Pop Warner, the two coaches who had been on expiring contracts, will return for 2027.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals announced this past week that they have parted ways with major league hitting coach Brant Brown. Brown departs after two seasons in the position. A new hitting coach will be announced in the near future. The Cardinals are expected to retain the majority of their major league coaching staff for the 2027 season.
Major league baseball discourages major announcements from teams during the postseason, so much of any news of interest to fans will likely be put off until after the World Series concludes.
The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays will play Game 3 of the Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Monday, October 26. The Brewers are up 2-0. Game 4 and Game 5, if necessary, will follow on Wednesday and Thursday. The Series will conclude on or before Saturday, October 31.
The winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be announced on Monday, October 26. Outfielder Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ nominee. The annual honors go to the player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, on and off the field.
After the World Series concludes, all eligible players will officially become free agents. At that time, the Cardinals will have to decide on their one and only free agent, RHP Ryne Stanek. Stanek’s contract includes a 2027 club option, so the team will decide during the five days following the end of the World Series. It seems likely that option will be declined.
Following the end of the World Series, the annual offseason awards will be disclosed. The first of these are the Gold Glove Awards. The Cardinals have three finalists, RHP Michael McGreevy, 2B JJ Wetherholt, and SS Masyn Winn. The winner will be announced on November 1.
The annual General Manager Meetings will take place during the week of November 10th. This is the time in a normal offseason that discussions concerning offseason trades and signings first occur. This may change or be diminished due to the likely lockout on December 1.
Other offseason dates in November of interest are November 18 and November 21. On the 18th, two things occur. The first is the deadline for players to accept or reject the Qualifying Offer. The QO has to be made to players during the five-day window following the end of the World Series. Also on the 18th, teams must add players to the 40-man roster that they wish to protect from the Rule 5 draft. This will take place regardless of whether the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft occurs in December.
November 21 is the tender deadline. On this date, teams must tender a contract to all pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players. Any player who is not tendered a contract is released from the organization. The Cardinals have nine arbitration eligible players – Andre Pallante, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Matthew Liberatore, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages and Kyle Leahy. The salaries of these players will be determined at a later date.
Over the next couple of months, these and other activities will be chronicled in this space.
Stay tuned for what’s next in the offseason and beyond.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays is in progress. The Brewers lead the series 2-0 as both teams head to St. Petersburg to play Games 3 through 5 beginning on Monday, October 26. The Series will conclude on or before Saturday, October 31.
The winner of the Roberto Clemente award will be announced on Monday, October 26. Outfielder Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ nominee for the award.
At 9:00 am on the day following the end of the World Series, the offseason officially begins.
The winners of the Gold Glove awards will be announced on November 1 on ESPN. The Cardinals have three finalists, Michael McGreevy, JJ Wetherholt, and Masyn Winn. The Platinum Glove award winners will be announced on November 6. The Heart and Hustle awards will be given out as well on November 6. The Cardinals’ nominee for this award is second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
Other awards to be given out in November and are:
- Rookie of the Year – November 9. JJ Wetherholt is a candidate for this award.
- Manager of the Year – November 10.
- Cy Young and Relief Pitcher of the Year – November 11.
- MVP – November 11.
- Hank Aaron Award – November 11. Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ nominee for this award.
Blast from the Past
The World Series is underway. It is the first appearance for the Brewers since they faced and lost to the Cardinals in 1982 when the Brewers were in the American League. The Brewers are up 2-0 going into Game 3 of the Series.
In this week’s Blast from the Past, we continue to chronicle postseason and offseason events that occurred in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals’ franchise during the period October 19 through October 25. These events are varied but of interest to fans.
Below is a list of postseason and offseason events from the past. The date of the event and the details of said event are included.
October 19, 2006 – The Cardinals defeated the New York Mets in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The game was a nail biter throughout and included such events as the “catch” by Mets outfielder Endy Chavez of a potential two-run home run by Scott Rolen, the winning two-run home run by Yadier Molina in the ninth inning, and the final strikeout of Carlos Beltran on a curve ball from then closer Adam Wainwright.
October 20, 1931 – Cardinal second baseman Frankie Frisch was selected as the National Leage Most Valuable Player. Frisch slashed .311/.368/.396 and led the NL in stolen bases with 28.
October 20, 1964 – Former Cardinal Red Schoendienst was named manager of the Cardinals several days after manager Johnny Keane announced he was resigning to move to the New York Yankees. During those few days following the Cardinals’ World Series win over the Yankees, owner Gussie Busch fired GM Bing Devine, and senior consultant Branch Rickey.
October 21, 2004 – The Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals won 5-2, and advanced to their first World Series since 1987. The Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and are swept in four games.
October 22, 2011 – In Game 3 of the World Series, Cardinal slugger Albert Pujols blasted three home runs to rout Texas by the score of 16-7 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Pujols went 5-for-6 with six RBI and four runs scored as the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game, joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson.
October 25, 2021 – Cardinals’ bench coach Oliver Marmol was promoted to Manager following the firing of manager Mike Shildt.
October 26, 2013 – In Game 3 of the World Series against the Red Sox, pinch hitter Allen Craig was involved in a controversial obstruction call in the ninth inning. After Yadier Molina was thrown out attempting to score on a ground ball by Jon Jay, a throwing error by the Red Sox catcher to third on Craig’s advancement resulted in Craig scoring the winning run. Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks fell on the ground attempting to catch the errant throw, causing Craig to trip over Middlebrooks on his way home. Umpires ruled Middlebrooks had obstructed Craig as he attempted to score.
October 26, 2009 – Former Cardinals’ slugger Mark McGwire was named St. Louis’ new hitting coach, following the firing of Hal McRae at the end of the 2009 season. Big Mac remained for three seasons, through 2012. He then served three years as the Dodgers hitting coach and three more as the Padres bench coach before retiring after the 2018 season. McGwire was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
October 26, 2014 – On this date, Cardinals fans were stunned to learn that rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras, the Cardinals’ former top prospect, was killed in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic.
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