The St. Louis Cardinals are fully embracing a rebuild in 2026. That means that younger players are going to receive as much runway as possible.

This includes Jordan Walker, who has struggled this spring, hitting just .176 without any home runs. The Cardinals want to have right field open for him this year and give him one last chance to figure out his struggles.

Manager Oli Marmol is fully aware of the growing concerns fans have about the former top prospect and where things currently stand. However, he isn’t giving up on him just yet, and he confirmed that the Cardinals are prepared to give him more opportunities.

Oli Marmol responds to Jordan Walker concerns

“We’re going to have to see this through,” Marmol said. “He’s going to play. We have to figure out how to get the best version of Jordan Walker.”

If the Cardinals were focused on contending this year, then they would ultimately find another solution and send Walker down to Triple-A Memphis. But because they’re rebuilding, it makes sense to give him as many opportunities as possible.

This will likely be Walker’s last chance to prove that he can be a part of the next Cardinals’ core. If he doesn’t hit this year, then the Cardinals can think about finding a new role for him or moving on from him altogether.

For now though, the goal for the Cardinals is to help Walker fight through his struggles and become the player they expected him to be when he was called up to the major leagues in 2023. Since that year, he hasn’t been able to put it together.

But Marmol isn’t ready to pull the plug just yet, and he remains committed to seeing Walker work through his struggles and become a power threat at the plate, just as he was in his rookie season.

The Cardinals have some outfielders that are emerging as legitimate candidates to fill roles on the roster such as Nelson Velazquez and Thomas Saggese, so the heat is definitely being turned up a bit on Walker.

But the Cardinals still aren’t going to give up on him unless the struggles continue throughout the 2026 season. It will be interesting to see where Walker ends up and if he can work through these issues.

“There’s enthusiasm because of the work that is being put in, the attention to detail, and that hasn’t changed,” Marmol added. “You continue to be head down with those things because that is what is eventually going to get him where he needs to get to.”