Reports: Cardinals to Part Ways with Hitting Coach Again

Apparently frustrated by an offense that faded in the second half of the season and finished last in the National League in OPS and slugging, the St. Louis Cardinals are planning to part ways with hitting coach Brant Brown, The Athletic reported on Friday.

Brown, 55, has been the Cardinals’ hitting coach each of the past two seasons. The Cardinals finished 78-84 in 2025 and 77-85 in 2026, one that saw them have one of MLB’s youngest rosters while beginning a multi-year rebuild.

The hitting coach position has been one of upheaval in St. Louis. This will be the fourth time that the Cardinals will be in the market for a new hitting coach since 2021.

Much of the Cardinals’ hitting woes from this past season came while playing at Busch Stadium, a pitcher’s friendly park that lived up to that reputation in 2026. The Cardinals averaged 5.06 runs (third in National League) and hit 99 home runs (tied for 8th in NL) at Busch Stadium. However, they averaged just 3.82 runs (15th in NL) and hit only 68 home runs (15th in NL).

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For a second straight season, the Cardinals offense fell on hard times in July and September. The Cards were eliminated from Wild Card contention with two weeks left in the season and the club lost nine of its last 11 games, went 9-15 in September and just 27-40 after the break for the MLB All-Star Game.

Cardinals sluggers Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker had career years under the tutelage of Brown and assistant hitting coaches Brandon Allen and Casey Chenoweth. Burleson, who is in the running for a second straight Silver Slugger award, hit .279 and had 37 doubles, 26 homers and an MLB-most 116 RBI – the first Cardinals player to lead MLB in RBI since Joe Torre in 1971. As for Walker, he shed his struggles of the previous three seasons and registered career highs with 29 home runs, 102 RBI, 22 stolen bases and a .269 batting average. Burleson had the team’s highest OPS at .816, while Walker was second at .793.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals struggled to generate much consistent offense at catcher, third base and center field. Their catchers hit just 15 home runs (11th in NL) and drove in only 59 runs (14th in NL). Cardinals third basemen hit just .211 and had a combined OPS of .620 – both good for next-to-last in the NL. As for their offensive production in center field, their players there ranked in the lower third of the NL in six major offensive categories.