José Martínez is back in baseball, but this time he’s not stepping into a batter’s box. He’s taking on a new role as a hitting coach in the Minnesota Twins organization, a move he announced on his personal X account on Friday.
For Cardinals fans, Martínez will always be tied to that stretch in St. Louis when he was a real force at the plate.
He arrived in the organization in 2016 and debuted in the majors later that season, then put together two strong years offensively with the Cardinals, including a near .900 OPS in 2017 and an .821 OPS in 2018. The bat was never the question.
The challenge was finding him a defensive home, and that helped limit how long he stayed in St. Louis.
Now, six years after his last Major League game, Martínez is getting back into the game in a new capacity.
Back in May, Martínez said he would love to coach for the Cardinals, but his first opportunity has come elsewhere. That’s not especially surprising given the direction St. Louis has taken with its hitting infrastructure, especially at the minor league level, and the recent change on the big league staff.
The Cardinals just hired Joel McKeithan as their new hitting coach, replacing Brant Brown. McKeithan arrives with experience from two other MLB organizations, including the White Sox and Reds, and also brings a background working with Driveline. That profile lines up with the type of voice Chaim Bloom and his group appear to be targeting.
None of that means Martínez wouldn’t have been a worthy option, or that he can’t thrive with Minnesota. It just explains why St. Louis is staying the course with its current plan rather than turning to Martínez right now.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Made A Front Office Move Fans Needed To See
The Cardinals have made another significant move in their baseball operations department, promoting Rob Cerfolio to general manager after two seasons in the organization. Cerfolio arrived two offseasons ago as assistant general manager and now steps into a larger role under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, giving St. Louis a familiar face in a key spot as the front office continues to take shape.
The timing matters, too, with the club adjusting after assistant GM Randy Flores left for the Houston Astros. Keeping Cerfolio in the building helps preserve continuity at a moment when the Cardinals are looking to steady their leadership structure and keep the decision-making chain intact. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Put A Huge Part Of Their Turnaround On One Executive
The Cardinals front office reshuffle has put a familiar name in a much bigger chair. Rob Cerfolio has been promoted to general manager after Michael Girsch was moved into an advisor role, a change that underscores how much St. Louis has leaned on Cerfolio since he arrived in October 2024 as assistant general manager overseeing player development. His impact on the farm system has been one of the quieter reasons the organization has felt more stable of late, even as the big league side has continued to search for the right formula.
Cerfolio now steps into the job alongside Chaim Bloom, giving the Cardinals a leadership structure that still includes a strong executive and scouting group around him. The promotion also says plenty about where the organization believes its turnaround work has been happening, and how central player development has become to the bigger picture in St. Louis. What remains to be seen is how the new alignment will shape the next phase of the clubs roster-building plan. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Face A Tough Third Base Decision With Bigger Needs Looming
The Cardinals are entering the winter with a familiar sort of roster question at third base, and it is one they have not solved through internal churn. After cycling through several options last season without finding a clear answer, the front office has reason to look outside the organization, with free agency offering at least one name in Alec Bohm. Even so, the fit is not especially clean, which is part of what makes this spot such a tricky one to address.
St. Louis also has to balance that need against bigger roster priorities, especially on the pitching side, where the spending may matter more. That leaves open the possibility that the Cardinals open next season with an internal candidate at third and keep their resources pointed elsewhere, even if the position remains a lingering weak spot. It is the kind of decision that can shape the rest of the offseason, because fixing one hole may mean leaving another one to wait. [Read more 🡒]