Cardinals cut ties with medical director Paletta

March 18--JUPITER, Fla. -- The Cardinals today announced they have ended their relationship with longtime medical director Dr. George Paletta as the club turns over player care to Mercy Sports Medicine.

"The Mercy Sports Medicine model allows us to improve the level of innovative care available to our team by tapping into a remarkable team of physicians who are leaders in sports medicine," senior vice-president and general manager John Mozeliak said in a prepared statement. "The biggest change I see with the approach is that it is truly a team model -- a model that leverages the strengths of multiple physicians within the Mercy Sports Medicine group. This is a strategic plan that will handle our short-term needs, but also focus on long-term goals."

The club also announced it is severing ties with Dr. Lyndon Gross. Paletta and Gross are orthopedic surgeons affiliated with the Orthopedic Center of St. Louis.

Paletta had served as the Cardinals' medical director and head team physician since 1998.

The Cardinals selected Mercy Hospital as its official medical provider in January 2013 as part of a sponsorship deal. Tuesday's announcement extends turnover among the team's medical and training staffs that began with the reassignment of head athletic trainer Barry Weinberg in November 2010. Weinberg's assistant, Greg Hauck, was promoted to the top position. The Cardinals also have since added Central Institute for Human Performance founder Clayton Skaggs as their Injury and Performance Physician.

The affiliation with Mercy includes Dr. Michael J. Milne as orthopedic surgeon and Dr. <person>Jason Hand as lead internist.

Ellis' knee to be re-evaluated

The Cardinals intend to re-evaluate veteran second baseman Mark Ellis Wednesday as the insurance policy for rookie Kolten Wong deals with tendinitis in his left knee, the same knee injured in a collision with then-Cardinal Tyler Greene in 2012.

Ellis has not appeared in a game since last Thursday.

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