MLB

St. Louis, MO –  The St. Louis Cardinals have announced that Derek Lilliquist will serve as pitching coach in place of Dave Duncan, who is taking a leave of absence to be with his wife while she recovers from surgery.

Lilliquist, 45, was the Cardinals' bullpen coach last season and served as the team's pitching coach last August when Duncan was with his wife, Jeanine, as she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor.

There is no timetable for how long Duncan will be away from the team during this leave of absence.

Lilliquist has been a member of the Cardinals' organization since 2002, working at the minor league level and with pitchers rehabilitating from injury at the team's complex in Florida.

Dyer Miller, who had been serving as the club's minor league pitching coordinator, will fill Lilliquist's role as bullpen coach. Brent Strom was named minor league pitching coordinator following Miller's promotion.

Additionally Friday, the Cardinals named Jamie Pogue bullpen catcher and announced several staff changes. They hired Dan Kantrovitz as director of scouting and promoted Matt Slater to director of player personnel.