The St. Louis Cardinals have announced third base coach Jose Oquendo has taken a medical leave of absence for the “foreseeable future” as he fully recovers from right knee surgery. He had the clean-up procedure a couple of weeks ago as a foll0w-up to a previous off-season procedure.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
He began the spring on both feet and even though on crutches of late, Oquendo had still been on-hand for Spring Training–driving around on a golf cart to still help provide instruction for various players.
In his absence, Chris Maloney will move from first to third base coaching duties for the Cardinals and Bill Mueller will move from assistant hitting coach to first base and provide middle infield instruction. Minor League Hitting Coordinator Derrick May will take over the assistant hitting duties. Minor League Offensive Strategist George Greer will now oversee hitting instruction for all of the minor leagues.
Oquendo, who has been part of the Cardinals coaching staff since 1999, had previously planned to be ready for Opening Day.
More like this: