Oquendo, McGee Joining Staff

The “Secret Weapon” will be returning to the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2018 season.

With the recent news of David Bell departing for San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals have filled his vacancy by announcing the return of Jose Oquendo, who will move back to his position as third base coach for the team. In return, Mike Shildt will step into the bench coach spot vacated by Bell, and the Cardinals also announced Willie McGee will joining the big league staff.

“We feel that by bringing the experience, past successes and baseball savvy that these three gentlemen possess to our Major League coaching staff will be a strong benefit to our ball club,” stated Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak in a press release.  “Whether it’s coaching, teaching, game analysis, game planning, etc., etc. – these three men bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team.”

After serving as the team’s third base coach from 2000 through 2015, Oquendo has been a Special Assistant to the General Manager the last two seasons, working in particular with young players in the organization.

A Cardinals Hall of Famer, McGee has been working as a Special Assistant to the General Manager with the team for the last five seasons.

This past season was the first in the big leagues for Shildt, who was promoted to the newly created Quality Control Coach after managing the five prior seasons at Memphis (AAA) and Springfield (AA). He moved into the third base coach position when Chris Maloney was reassigned in June.

The Cardinals also announced Ron “Pop” Warner will move to the role of Assistant Field Coordinator after stepping in to assist with the big league staff during the season last year.

photo credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports