The Cardinals have hired Jon Jay to be their first base coach for 2025. Jay, a winning and highly respected Cardinal player as the starting CF from 2011-2015, coached for manager Skip Schumaker in Miami but decided to move on when Schumaker and the new Marlins' baseball head of operations decided to go their separate ways. Jay had other options, but he chose to come to St. Louis and work with former Cardinals teammate (and good friend) Daniel Descalso. And Jay welcomed the opportunity to come "home" to this franchise to work for Oli Marmol -- even though there are no guarantees that Marmol will be here past 2025. In a related note, the Cardinals' new hitting coach (Brant Brown) also served as Schumaker's hitting coach in Miami ... hmm ... very intriguing.

What's going on here? Well, the Cardinals just got smarter in the dugout because Jay is a well regarded young major-league coach that already has made a name for himself. He's an excellent teacher and communicator and, like Descalso, understands the importance of creating a positive team culture. And whether Marmol stays as manager here in 2025, there are ways that Jay and Descalso can remain in place with the Cardinals. I'll explain.