St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward (22) greets center fielder Jon Jay (19) as Jay scores a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park in 2015. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Former St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champion Returns to Team in Coaching Capacity

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Oct 22, 2024 8:00 AM ET

Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay will be back with the organization in 2025, as he's accepted a coaching role with the team.

He had previously been with the Miami Marlins for the last two years, but was recently let go in their massive organizational overhaul.

Katie Woo of The Athletic had the original report (subscription required). MLBTradeRumors says it's not known exactly what Jay will be doing with the Cardinals, but he won't be coaching a base - something he did do in Miami.

Back to #STLCards, this time as a coachhttps://t.co/S0Z0j755ia pic.twitter.com/WDW3PD2C1j
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) October 22, 2024

The 39-year-old Jay spent 12 years in the big leagues as a player with the Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels. Lifetime, he was a .283 hitter who popped 37 homers and stole 55 bases.

He spent six productive seasons with St. Louis, helping the group win the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers. He made the playoffs in six different major league seasons, hitting .225 in October. He also helped the Marlins get to the playoffs in the 2023 season as a coach.

The Cardinals are coming off a season in which they finished in a tie for second place in the National League Central. They haven't made the playoffs since the 2022 season and could be headed for a mini-rebuild. The group has an aging roster and is likely to let Paul Goldschmidt go in free agency. They could also trade Sonny Gray as a way to jumpstart the rebuild and save some money in the process.

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This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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