St. Louis Cardinals v Cincinnati Reds | Jeff Dean/GettyImages

The St. Louis Cardinals continue to to defy expectations in 2025 as they compete for the division, and fans are returning in droves. But that’s not all that is gaining the attention of the fanbase. The Cardinals had long been an organization that was tight-lipped about its processes and methods for sustained success, and President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak was often reluctant to divulge details about the team’s inner workings to the media.

Now, in 2025, Mozeliak and manager Oli Marmol have been refreshingly forthright about the team and how they’re going about handling it.

Prior to the season, Mozeliak was candid with reporters about how the Cardinals expected this to be a transitional year, and, in a stark contrast to the usually buttoned-up Mozeliak, he engaged in some lighthearted interviews with local media hosts. It was worth questioning whether the Cardinals would return to their closed-off ways once the season was underway, but any concerns about that appear to have been assuaged.

As the season has progressed, Mozeliak has taken more of a back seat while Marmol receives the brunt of the attention for his day-to-day management of the team, and Marmol has picked up where Mozeliak left off in being clearer and more straightforward with the media than in years past. Gone seem to be the days of Marmol bizarrely platooning Jordan Walker in the waning days of 2024; in Katie Woo’s latest article from The Athletic (subscription required), Marmol clearly laid out his use of Walker and Alec Burleson, saying that while Burleson is being used strictly against right-handed pitchers, Walker will be in the lineup against both left- and right-handers.

This leads to another admirable facet of the 2025 Cardinals: They are not going back on their word. Marmol is letting Walker play despite his struggles, and he is expertly balancing the “runway” that Walker was promised while still putting out a competitive lineup. When one compares this with how it was handled last season, when there was an obvious disconnect between Marmol and Mozeliak regarding Walker’s usage, the difference is night and day.

Another promise that Marmol has kept is the addition of Matthew Liberatore to the starting rotation. Many fans were skeptical that Liberatore could pitch in a starting role after the team tried him in that position several times before, without much success. But Liberatore has drastically elevated his play this year. If Liberatore had struggled again, perhaps Marmol would have reconsidered and relegated him to the bullpen once again. However, given the Cardinals’ “transition” mindset, Liberatore may have received a longer leash than many would have anticipated.

Marmol was also transparent in how he has been shuffling the lineup. In Woo’s article, Marmol discussed the rationing out of playing time for Walker, Burleson, Ivan Herrera, and Willson Contreras while acknowledging that Nolan Gorman has received the short end of the stick. Marmol admitted that this balancing act hasn’t been easy, but it’s clear to fans that it has gone swimmingly in the results to this point.

Another member of the staff who has been speaking about the changes to the franchise is Assistant General Manager Rob Cerfolio, who has appeared on several podcasts, including Dealin’ the Cards, and has talked at length about his desire to help the Cardinals return to their former status as a premier pitching factory and discussed some of what that process entails.

Whether the Cardinals would be this refreshingly clear and honest with fans if they were losing is worth pondering, but there’s a real chance that the team is succeeding in part because of this cleaner communication. There appeared to be little cohesion over the past several seasons in how messages were relayed and received, and even organizational philosophies appeared to be inconsistent from coach to coach. With executives and management now seeming to work more in tandem, the Cardinals look to have fixed many of the kinks that obstructed the chain of communication.

It took a long and winding road for the Cardinals brass to recognize that interactions with fans on a more frank level were a major part of bringing back goodwill. Mozeliak frequently appeared to be “talking down” to the public in the past, which led to plenty of criticism directed his way. But now the two’s willingness to open up more about their thoughts on certain situations gives them a more relatable aspect to fans. Even if one disagrees with one of Marmol’s moves during a game, they can still see Marmol’s side of things when he clearly explains his process. This leads fans to give more grace and respect toward the team because they feel that they’re being treated on more equal footing.

The Cardinals are headed in the right direction, and not just on the field. The organization has learned that clear and open communication with fans is vital to garnering support for a franchise. Here’s hoping that when Chaim Bloom takes the reins from Mozeliak in 2026, the team will continue to utilize this long-awaited approach.