The Cardinals are making another change in their hitting department, and this one arrives as something of a surprise. Brant Brown will not be retained for the 2027 season, marking yet another reset for a group that has already gone through plenty of turnover since 2024.
Katie Woo of The Athletic was first with the news, which leaves St. Louis searching for a new hitting coach for the fourth time in that span after Jeff Albert departed and the club moved on from Turner Ward. Brown had come to the organization with a strong recommendation from Albert Pujols, who had a positive experience working with him during their time together with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The results on the field gave the Cardinals little reason to stand pat. Their offense never really clicked in 2025, and in 2026 they finished with the second-lowest OPS in the sport at .691, along with a .378 slugging percentage.
Brown has a solid reputation around the game and should not be waiting long for another opportunity. If Pujols lands a managerial job, Brown could even be a fit for that staff. The Los Angeles Angels, in particular, are starting to build more Cardinals ties.
For now, though, the expectation is that most of the coaching staff stays intact. Daniel Descalso could still draw interest from teams with managerial openings, but the changes appear focused strictly on the hitting side. It also fits with Chaim Bloom starting to make his mark on more parts of the organization, since Brown was brought in under Mozeliak.
The most obvious internal candidate is assistant hitting coach Casey Chenoweth. He has picked up strong reviews throughout the organization and is viewed as the early favorite for the job.
Jordan Walker has been especially vocal about the work Chenoweth did with him, crediting him with helping him get back to his potential as a hitter. Joshua Baez also spent time with Chenoweth at Double-A in 2025 and saw his career turn around there.
Brown, meanwhile, appeared to have some trouble getting fully aligned with Walker. In September 2025, both Brown and manager Oliver Marmol went on local radio and discussed some of the areas they felt Walker still needed to sharpen. That does not necessarily point to conflict, but it is worth noting that Chenoweth was the coach earning the more public praise.
The Cardinals did get big seasons at the plate from Walker and Burleson in 2026, but Ivan Herrera and Masyn Winn regressed, and Nolan Gorman continued to struggle offensively. With more young bats on the way, St. Louis may want a different voice guiding the next wave of hitters, whether that comes from inside the organization or from outside it.
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Cardinals Make Another Offensive Staff Change At A Crucial Time
The Cardinals have made another change to their offensive staff, parting ways with hitting coach Brant Brown after a difficult run for the lineup. Brown was brought in after the 2024 season, but the offense never settled in under his watch, and now the club is moving on as it tries to reset a key part of its approach at the plate.
What comes next will matter just as much, because St. Louis plans to keep most of its coaching staff intact while deciding how to fill the hitting coach job. The organization could turn to someone already in the building or look outside for a fresh voice, and either way the move arrives at a crucial time for a team trying to find more consistency offensively. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes Hernandez worth watching now is how he fits into a catching depth chart that keeps getting more crowded with new possibilities. His performance in the Arizona Fall League has only added to the buzz, with teammates and evaluators pointing to the way his bat is trending as a reason to believe he could become a meaningful part of the Cardinals long-term plans. [Read more 🡒]
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As the offseason calendar starts to turn, one of the first Cardinals decisions on the board is a familiar kind of front-office test: whether to bring back a veteran arm on a modest club option. Ryne Stanek, who turned in a solid 2026 season after settling in, posted a 2.84 ERA from April 30 onward and gave St. Louis the kind of stability teams often value in the middle of a bullpen.
The catch is that this choice is about more than one reliever. The Cardinals must decide within five days after the World Series ends whether to exercise Staneks $6 million option for 2027, and the answer will say plenty about how they intend to navigate their rebuild. For a club trying to balance future planning with the need for dependable veterans, even a seemingly straightforward bullpen call carries some bigger organizational weight. [Read more 🡒]