Diamondbacks bench coach and former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Gardenhire will undergo surgery to remove his prostate and take a leave of absence, the D-Backs announced.
The team released the following statement from Gardenhire:
"I'm going to fight it and deal with it. It's a bump in the road and it's not how I envisioned starting Spring Training with a brand new team but it's part of life. With the backing of this ball club, we'll get through it and I'll get through it."
The Diamondbacks also released this statement from team president Derrick Hall, who is himself a prostate cancer survivor:
"The entire organization stands behind Ron and we are here to support him through this challenging time. He certainly knows that there are resources throughout the franchise that he can turn to and of course, we will do everything we can to assist him."
Gardenhire, 59, is going into his first season as D-Backs bench coach. He managed the Twins from 2002-14. Along the way, he guided them to a 1,068-1,039 record and six division titles.
