The Cardinals have added two new coaches to complete manager Oliver Marmol’s coaching staff.

Dusty Blake, the pitching coach, and Turner Ward, the hitting coach, are two of the ten returning coaches from the previous campaign.

Although both Ward and Blake had been with the Cardinals before the previous season, the 2023 campaign was their first in those roles. Blake had been a collegiate pitching coach, and Ward had coached hitting for three different major-league teams in the past.

Two of the ten returning coaches from the previous season are hitting coach Turner Ward and pitching coach Dusty Blake.

The 2023 season marked Ward and Blake’s first in those positions, despite the fact that they had both previously played for the Cardinals. Blake had coached pitching at the collegiate level, and Ward had previously served as hitting coach for three different major league teams.

Left-handed reliever Kiekhefer made his major league debut in 2016 with the Cardinals, playing in 26 games during that campaign. In 2018, he made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics.

When Blake was promoted to pitching coach in 2023, the Cardinals did not replace Blake as the pitching strategist from 2022.

John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, and Marmol stated that they intended to bolster the pitching staff this offseason.

“Throughout the league, staff numbers are increasing for the proper reasons,” stated Marmol during the Winter Meetings last week. “There’s a lot more data to sort through and determine what is straightforward and useful.