ST. LOUIS -- General manager John Mozeliak announced on Saturday that the Cardinals are restructuring their medical department by adding a performance department that will be headed by Dr. Robert Butler. Butler joins the organization following his time working as a clinical scientist and educator in Duke University's physical therapy department.
"Ultimately, what we're trying to do is grab hold of a more modern approach to understanding fatigue, nutrition, and training and put it under one umbrella," Mozeliak explained. "I think, in the past, we've had a lot of different ways of touching on player performance. I never felt like it was under one umbrella, and now we've hired someone who has a background in organizing this, understanding how to measure it, and understanding what success looks like."
Butler will work on both the Minor and Major League sides and will eventually grow the department as necessary.
In other staffing news, Adam Olsen will run the athletic training department after being promoted to head athletic trainer in December. Olsen takes the position left vacant when Greg Hauck left the organization shortly after the 2015 season. Chris Conroy will return as an assistant athletic trainer. Jeremy Clipperton, the Triple-A Memphis trainer in 2015, has been promoted to fill Olsen's previous role as assistant athletic trainer/rehab coordinator.
The Cardinals are still in the process of replacing Clipperton in Memphis.
Mozeliak also announced that Dr. Clayton Skaggs, who served as an injury and performance physician the past two seasons, will not return.
The Cardinals are also adding a pair of bilingual staff members to serve as interpreters within the clubhouse. The club will hire a Korean-speaking interpreter to work with new reliever Seung Hwan Oh, who signed with the Cardinals a week ago and speaks limited English.
There will also be a Spanish-speaking interpreter in place to assist with media interviews this season, something mandated by Major League Baseball as part of a joint initiative with the Players Association. In recent seasons, the Cardinals have utilized a coach to translate interviews with Spanish-speaking players. This new hire will work as part of the media relations staff.