ST. LOUIS • As the Cardinals reconsider and reshape their medical staff for the coming year the club will add what general manager John Mozeliak called a "performance department" to oversee recovery and treatment at all levels, including the major-league club.

The Cardinals have hired Dr. Robert Butler, a professor at Duke University, to work with the training staff and head the new department.

"Ultimately what we’re trying to do it grab hold of a more modern approach to understanding fatigue, nutrition, training and put it under one umbrella," Mozeliak said during his chat with the media at the annual Winter Warm-up. "It’s going to become its own department. And one that from a more organic standpoint we’re going to have this work with our minor-league side and then hopefully it will have an impact on our major-league team moving forward. 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."

Earlier this offseason, longtime athletic trainer Greg Hauck resigned from his position, and the team promoted Adam Olsen to the role.

Olsen had been with the major-league team helping with rehab programs.