Amid their ongoing rebuilding process and Chaim Bloom’s takeover of baseball operations, the St. Louis Cardinals have largely maintained stability within their coaching staff. The franchise extended manager Oliver Marmol’s contract in March and is expected to keep most of his staff in place heading into 2027, following a similar approach last offseason.
However, one significant change is on the way. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals are parting ways with hitting coach Brant Brown after two seasons with the organization. St. Louis must now find a new leader for its offensive approach, marking the third time in five years that the franchise will have to fill the position.
The decision to move on from Brown might surprise some observers. During his tenure, Jordan Walker delivered the best season of his career so far, while Alec Burleson established himself as one of the better first basemen in baseball.
Despite those individual improvements and an encouraging start to the 2026 campaign for the young Cardinals, the team’s overall offensive production left plenty to be desired.
St. Louis finished second-to-last in Major League Baseball in both slugging percentage (.378) and OPS (.691), ranking ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels in each category. Although the Cardinals finished 15th in runs scored, their overall numbers highlighted an offense that struggled to perform consistently across several important statistical categories.
The problems were not limited to 2026. In 2025, St. Louis also ranked second-to-last in home runs, with 148, and isolated power, posting a .134 mark. The Pittsburgh Pirates were the only team to finish below them in both categories.
Busch Stadium’s challenging hitting conditions and the inexperience of several Cardinals hitters may have contributed to those struggles. Nevertheless, the team failed to establish a consistently productive offensive identity during Brown’s two-year spell.
His departure also continues a pattern of relatively short coaching assignments. The 55-year-old served as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach in 2023 before joining the Seattle Mariners as their offensive coordinator and bench coach in 2024. However, Seattle dismissed him just two months into that season following a disappointing offensive start. Brown subsequently landed in St. Louis, where his tenure has now come to an end.
Another Early Departure for a Cardinals Hitting Coach
Brown is not the first hitting coach to leave St. Louis after a relatively short period. Before his arrival two offseasons ago, Turner Ward held the position for two seasons, with the Cardinals’ offensive struggles also becoming a major talking point during his tenure.
St. Louis has recorded a weighted runs created plus (wRC+) below 100 in each of the past three seasons, indicating that its offense has generally performed below the league average after adjusting for factors such as ballpark conditions.
Interestingly, the Cardinals posted a 103 wRC+ in 2023, despite finishing with a 71-91 record in what was the franchise’s worst season in four decades. Their offensive production has not returned to a consistently above-average level since 2022, Jeff Albert’s final season as the team’s hitting coach.
Even then, fans were unhappy with the club’s performance at the plate, and Albert stepped down after three seasons with the organization.
Now, St. Louis faces another important decision as it searches for a replacement for Brown. The expectation is that the next hire will bring greater consistency, improve the team’s offensive output and provide some much-needed long-term stability at the position.
Potential Internal Candidates for the Cardinals’ Next Hitting Coach
Unlike the Cardinals’ previous appointments, which brought in Ward and Brown from outside the organization, the franchise could consider promoting someone already familiar with its system.
With much of the coaching staff expected to remain in place, Brandon Allen and Casey Chenoweth stand out as potential internal candidates.
Allen has steadily worked his way through the Cardinals’ coaching structure since retiring from professional baseball. He began as the organization’s rookie-ball hitting coach in 2017 before receiving promotions over each of the following three seasons. Since 2023, he has served as an assistant hitting coach with the major league team.
Chenoweth began his coaching career around the same time but gained experience with other organizations, including the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, before joining St. Louis.
He was appointed High-A Peoria’s hitting coach in 2023, moved up to Double-A Springfield the following season and joined the major league coaching staff last November. Chenoweth has also been closely associated with Walker’s resurgence, potentially strengthening his case for a larger role.
The Cardinals should not restrict their search to candidates already within the organization. However, Allen and Chenoweth deserve serious consideration because of their familiarity with the team’s hitters, player-development system and existing coaching structure.
The Last Word
Regardless of how the Cardinals approach their search, replacing Brown will be an important decision as the organization attempts to build a more competitive roster.
St. Louis has reasons to be optimistic about the future of Burleson, Leo Bernal and, hopefully, Walker. However, continued improvement from those players cannot be taken for granted, making the development of a more complete lineup essential.
The next hitting coach will need to help players who have yet to establish themselves as consistent offensive contributors while ensuring that the team’s most promising hitters continue to progress.
Getting a more productive season from Iván Herrera and finding ways to unlock additional offensive potential from Masyn Winn, JJ Wetherholt and whoever occupies third base could make a significant difference.
One approach worth considering is tailoring each player’s role to their individual strengths, similar to the strategies employed by the teams competing in this year’s World Series.
Ultimately, the Cardinals need more than a few individual breakout performances. They must develop an offensive unit capable of producing runs consistently, putting pressure on opposing pitchers and delivering in important situations.
Finding the right hitting coach could be a crucial step toward achieving that goal. If St. Louis hopes to return to genuine championship contention, improving its overall offensive production must become a priority.
Leave a Reply