photo: Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan won Gold Gloves and Paul Goldschmidt is the NL Outstanding Player, named by his peers. Matt Holliday joined the St. Louis Cardinals coaching staff as Dusty Blake and Turner Ward received promotions. Our history feature recounts Holliday’s predecessors as bench coach.
Two Cardinals Gold Glove Winners
The winners of the 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced on November 1. The St. Louis Cardinals received two.
Nolan Arenado is the winner of the NL Gold Glove for third base. This is Arenado’s 10th consecutive award. He beat out finalists Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pirates, and Ryan McMahon of the Rockies. Arenado’s 10th Gold Glove ties Ichiro Suzuki as the only players to win 10 straight Gold Gloves to begin an MLB career. He also tied Mike Schmidt for the second most Gold Gloves for a third baseman. Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson holds the record at 16.
Rookie Brendan Donovan was the winner of the first-ever NL Gold Glove at the Utility position. Hbe beat out teammate Tommy Edman, the winner of last year’s award at second base, and Dalton Varsho of the Diamondbacks.
The 25-year-old is the first rookie in Cardinals history to win a Gold Glove. Donovan played at six different positions during the 2022 season, all four infield positions and both left and right fields. Donovan is the 29th different Cardinal to win the award and St. Louis holds the MLB record for most Gold Gloves with 98.
Last season the Cardinals set the MLB season record for most Gold Gloves by a team with five. Arenado was one, along with Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman, who were both finalists in 2022 but did not win, and Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader. Neither O’Neill nor Bader were finalists in 2022, likely due to time missed with injuries.
Goldschmidt is Players’ Choice NL Most Outstanding Player
The winners of the MLB Players Association Player’s Choice Awards were revealed on Friday, and the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt was named the NL Most Outstanding Player for 2022. The winners are chosen by members of the MLBPA.
Goldschmidt had one of the best years of his career in 2022. A clear candidate for NL MVP, Goldschmidt led the NL in slugging (.578), OPS (.981) and OPS+ (180). He hit 35 home runs and drove in 115.
Goldschmidt and teammate Nolan Arenado were the 1-2 punch in St. Louis’ 2022 lineup. Arenado is also a candidate for MVP. The top three finishers (aka finalists) for the four BBWAA awards are set to be announced on Monday, November 7.
Cardinals announce 2023 coaching staff
Last week we reported that changes were coming to the major league coaching staff for 2023. Without wasting time, the Cardinals announced those changes on social media on Sunday morning, the first official day of the offseason.
In a bit of a surprise, the Cardinals announced the hiring of former St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday as Bench Coach. Holliday, a team Hall of Famer, will replace former teammate Skip Schumaker, who departed to take the manager’s position with the Miami Marlins.
Holliday has no major league coaching experience but has spent his time post-baseball as outfield and hitting coach for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys are managed by his brother Josh Holliday.
The Cardinals also announced that Turner Ward has been promoted to Hitting Coach, replacing Jeff Albert. In addition, Dusty Blake will become Pitching Coach, replacing Mike Maddux.
Both Ward and Blake were on the major league coaching staff in 2022. Ward was Assistant Hitting Coach, and Blake was Pitching Strategist.
Also joining the coaching staff is Brandon Allen in the position of Assistant Hitting Coach, promoted from Triple-A Memphis.
The Cardinals added Julio Rangel, formerly with the Boston Red Sox, as Assistant Pitching Coach/Bullpen Coach.
The other coaching staff members from 2022 are returning for 2023.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 11/1 Albert Pujols retired.
- 11/1 Yadier Molina retired.
- 11/1 The Cardinals sent RHP Kodi Whitley outright to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 11/1 The Cardinals sent 2B Kramer Robertson outright to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 11/6 LHP Jose Quintana elected free agency.
- 11/6 LF Corey Dickerson elected free agency.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The World Series has ended, and the offseason has begun. As of 8 am CT on Sunday, November 6, free agency officially began. Teams have until 4 pm CT on Thursday, November 10, with exclusive negotiating rights with their free agents and possibly sign them for the 2023 season and beyond.
Teams may also express interest in free agents from other teams but may not negotiate with them or sign any contracts prior to 4 pm CT on November 10.
The Cardinals have two free agents. Pitcher Jose Quintana, and outfielder Corey Dickerson. The team may attempt to sign Quintana, but it is unlikely that Dickerson will be returning.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have officially retired and are out of the free agent pool. Adam Wainwright and Nolan Arenado have already confirmed they will be returning for 2023.
Between Sunday November 6 and 4 pm CT on November 10 teams must also make any Qualifying Offers to eligible free agents. That offer is set at $19.65 million for a one-year contract. Quintana is not eligible because he has not been with the Cardinals for a full season. Dickerson is eligible but is unlikely to receive the offer. Once the offer is made, the player has 10 days to accept or decline. The deadline is November 20.
After these moves, the Cardinals have 36 players on their 40-man roster. However, several prospects will be added for protection from December’s Rule 5 Draft.
Other key dates coming up in November are:
- November 15 – Deadline for finalizing 40-man rosters.
- November 18 – Non-tender deadline. This date has been moved from the traditional deadline in early December. All players under team control must be tendered a contract for the 2023 season by this date.
- November 8-10 – Annual General Manager Meeting to be held in Las Vegas.
- November 14-17 – BBWAA awards will be announced. These are the Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Cy Young Award for each league.
Blast from the Past
On Sunday, the Cardinals announced the hiring of former outfielder Matt Holliday as the new bench coach to replace Skip Schumaker. Schumaker left to take on the role of manager of the Miami Marlins. Holliday is the 13th Bench Coach in the history of the franchise. This week’s Blast from the Past looks at the history of the Bench Coach and the makeup of those who have served in that capacity.
Coaches have served in unspecified roles for major league teams dating back to the early 20th century. These coaches often had vague titles such as “first assistant.” Coaches hired for specific roles within a major league organization is a relatively new phenomenon.
The first “Bench Coach” hire in the Cardinals organization occurred for the 1984 season. This first bench coach was former Cardinal player and manager Red Schoendienst. Schoendienst was the longest tenured coach in this category. He served in that capacity from 1984 through 1995, with a brief stop as the interim manager of the Cardinals in 1990, following the departure of Whitey Herzog.
Of the 13 bench coaches, 10 were former major league players, and five, including Holliday, were former Cardinals major league players. Two of the five are current major league managers, David Bell (Reds) and Schumaker (Marlins). Schoendienst was a former manager of the Cardinals before he was a bench coach.
The other former Cardinal player/bench coach is Jose Oquendo, who is still employed in the Cardinals system. One other former bench coach, Ron “Pop” Warner, is currently the Cardinals third base coach. Each served as bench coach for only one season, Oquendo in 1999 and Warner in 2018. Former manager Mike Shildt was Mike Matheny’s bench coach to begin the 2018 season but succeeded Matheny as manager mid-season.
Current Cardinal manager Oli Marmol was bench coach under Shildt from 2019-21. Marmol played in the Cardinals minor league system but never reached the major leagues. Marmol, Shildt, and Warner were the three bench coaches to never play major league baseball. Warner was also a minor leaguer in the Cardinals system. Shildt did not play baseball at the professional level.
The second longest tenured Cardinals bench coach was Joe Pettini, bench coach from 2002-2011. Pettini played for the San Francisco Giants from 1980-1983. In 1984, Pettini signed on to play for the Louisville Redbirds, the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate at that time. He played in Louisville for three seasons. From there he was hired as a Cardinals minor league field coordinator. He remained in that role until he was promoted to major league bench coach in 2002.
Other Cardinals bench coaches were Ron Hassey (1996), Carney Lansford (1997-98), Mark DeJohn (2000-01), and Mike Aldrete (2012-14).
Hassey played for six major league teams, including the 1989 World Series Champion Oakland Athletics, managed by Tony La Russa. He was La Russa’s first bench coach.
Lansford also played for La Russa in Oakland and succeeded Hassey. He had stints on the coaching staffs of two other teams, the Giants (2008-09) and the Rockies (2011)
DeJohn played for the Detroit Tigers and went to work for the Cardinals organization in 1986. He spent six years on LaRussa’s coaching staff, two as the bench coach. He returned to the Cardinals minor league system in 2002, where he remained as a manager and minor league field coordinator until his retirement in 2019.
Aldrete played for seven teams and was a coach on four. He was with the Cardinals from 2008-2014 as assistant hitting coach and bench coach. After he left the Cardinals in 2014, he was hired by the Oakland Athletics, where he remains today.
Holliday assumes the role for the 2023 season. He has no prior major league coaching experience. Since retiring from baseball in 2018, Holliday has been serving as the outfield and hitting coach for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. His brother Josh is the manager of the team.
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