Oliver Marmol named Palm Beach's new Manager

Jupiter, FL - The St. Louis Cardinals have announced their 2015 Minor League Field Staff and former Palm Beach Cardinal Oliver Marmol has been named the new Manager in Palm Beach. This will be Marmol's first year as the Manager in Palm Beach as he is coming fresh off of a Championship with the State College Spikes in the New York-Penn League.

Joining Marmol for the 2015 season will also be two new faces to Palm Beach. New Pitching Coach Randy Niemann joins the staff after being with Springfield last year and new Hitting Coach Ramon Ortiz who was in State College with Marmol.

Marmol takes over for Dann Bilardello, who managed Palm Beach in 2014. Bilardello will take over in Double-A as the new manager in Springfield, while Springfield's former manager, Mike Shildt has been promoted to Triple-A with the Memphis Cardinals.

Marmol is entering his fourth season as a manager in the St. Louis Cardinals player development system. His professional managerial debut was made back in 2012 with the Johnson City (TN) Cardinals of the Appalachian League and led them to the playoffs in his first year. His managerial debut came just one year removed from his first coaching job, working as the hitting coach with the rookie Gulf Coast League Cardinals in the 2011 season.

Once a middle infielder in the Cardinals Organization, Marmol was a sixth round pick during the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston. He made his professional debut that same year with the Batavia Muckdogs. Coincidentally, Marmol's playing career ended in Palm Beach and his first coaching job was on Bilardello's staff in Batavia.

Niemann joins Palm Beach after spending last year with Springfield. Before joining the Cardinals organization in 2013, Niemann spent 24 seasons in the Mets Organization as well as the Red Sox as their pitching coach. A former second round draft pick, Randy enjoyed an eight-year Major League career as a pitcher and appeared in 122 career games.

After spending the previous two seasons with Marmol at State College, Ramon Ortiz joins the Palm Beach staff with 25 years of coaching experience behind him, 17 of which have been within the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Ortiz has mentored many young Cardinals hitters including Matt Adams and Matt Carpenter. Ortiz was an outfielder for five years in the Expos and Twins systems before starting his coaching career in 1983 in Venezuela.

Keith Joynt will be embarking on his third season with the Palm Beach Cardinals. He has been with the Cardinals Organization since 2008 and has worked at every level in the minor leagues. During his time with the Cardinals, Joynt has had stints as the rehabilitation, medical, and strength and conditioning coordinators.