Cardinals Part Ways With Hitting Coach Turner War

The Cardinals will have a new hitting coach next season. The team has decided not to offer Turner Ward a contract for 2025, . Ward spent the past two seasons as the Cardinals hitting coach, overseeing an underwhelming offense both years. In that time, St. Louis ranked Jarred Vanderbilt Jersey 21st in runs scored (1391), 16th in OPS (.723), and 17th in wRC+ (101). Those numbers arent terrible, but they are certainly disappointing for a team with postseason aspirations. Not all the blame for this mediocre offense should land on Turner; after all, he was the a sistant hitting coach in 2022, when the Cardinals offense was surprisingly potent, ranking sixth in runs scored (772), fifth in OPS (.745), and seventh in wRC+ (112). However, its not hard to understand why the Cardinals were ready to move on. The Cardinals are expected to keep a sistant hitting coach Brandon Allen on staff, though its unclear if they will promote Allen or seek their new hitting coach elsewhere. Woo also notes that game-planning coach Packy Elkins and first-base coach Stubby Clapp will return in 2025. However, her latest piece does not mention a sistant pitching coach Julio Rangel, another Cardinals coach whose contract was at the end of the season. Bench coach Daniel Descalso and pitching coach Dusty Blake are under contract through 2025, while third-base coach Pop Warner is under contract through 2026 (per ). Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Ward worked as an a sistant hitting coach for the Diamondbacks and a hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Reds. He is now free to seek his next coaching opportunity with a new organization. D'Angelo Russell Jersey