Oli Marmol keeps it real about Paul Goldschmidt’s season-long struggles for Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol tries to be honest about the struggles of his first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt has struggled to get his bat going this season, though he did hit a home run on Sunday.

“Those are the types of swings you want to see. But then he goes into the next game and he doesn’t feel good in terms of movement. Maintaining that consistently has been the struggle,” Marmol said, per MLB.com.

The Cardinals hope to get Goldschmidt to work even more as the team attempts to clinch a National League playoff spot this season. St. Louis is now 52-47 on the season after defeating the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. The team defeated Atlanta 6-2, helped by Goldschmidt’s home run.

Paul Goldschmidt’s season with the Cardinals

Goldschmidt is hitting .225 this season, with 13 home runs. His batting average is on pace to be lower than it has been in years. Just two years ago, the first baseman finished the 2022 season with a .317 average and over 100 runs batted in. He also won the National League Most Valuable Player award that season. The first baseman was part of the rumor mill leading up to the MLB trade deadline that he would be leaving the Red Birds.

The Cardinals are sitting in the thick of the National League Central Division this year. If the first baseman’s bat continues to heat up, the club will be a tough out in the division. The Red Birds are just five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the division standings with plenty of baseball left to play in the 2024 campaign. Only time will tell if Goldschmidt remains on the team for this late-season surge.

Marmol clearly wants to encourage Goldschmidt in every way possible. The first baseman’s home run on Sunday was his first in nearly two weeks. The Cardinals want him to look like the man he was in 2022. Goldschmidt has won four Gold Glove awards and is also the recipient of five Silver Slugger awards. When his bat works, the Red Birds seem to find it easier to rack up victories.

The veteran first baseman is approaching 2,000 career MLB hits. As of this writing, he has 1,995. He also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, prior to his time with the Cardinals.

The Cardinals begin a huge three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, while the Bucs battle for position with St. Louis in the NL Central.