Diamondbacks coach Gardenhire diagnosed with prostate cancer

Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"I'm going to fight and deal with it," Gardenhire said in a statement. "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."

Gardenhire served as manager of the Minnesota Twins from 2002-2014, winning six division titles and was also named AL Manager of the Year in 2010.

The 59-year-old was named to Diamondbacks rookie manager Torey Lovullo's staff in November. Gardenhire is expected to undergo surgery to remove his prostate at a later date and will take a leave of absence from the club.

"We are a family," Lovullo said. "As a family, there's a series of tests that are going to come upon us and this is a big one, but we're going to come together and help Gardy through this to the best of our ability. We're not going to miss a step because we're committed to him."

Lovullo was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox in 2015 when manager John Farrell was diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma.