JUPITER, Fla. — What with Skip Schumaker learning a new position, Joe Mather reintroducing himself to an old position and a whole gaggle of prospects who could use some tutoring at their positions, one of the hardest working men in Camp Cardinals this spring is a coach.

The club that once asked Jose Oquendo to play every position, now needs him to coach every position.

Seemingly all at once.

On the field furthest from the clubhouse here at the St. Louis Cardinals’ side of the Roger Dean Stadium complex, Oquendo has been cracking grounders and teaching footwork to everyone from his most experienced infielders to those newcomers. Shortstop Khalil Greene was the latest infielder to report to spring, and the first official full-squad workout is Tuesday. This morning, Oquendo worked with a rotating group of infielders. Schumaker continued to learn and refine the fundamentals of his new position — second base — and he did so while working with Albert Pujols and Oquendo on Monday.

“I hear about Schumaker trying to play second base,” Pujols said Sunday. “I haven’t seen him take ground balls. The one thing that’s going to hurt him is Oquendo is going to go out for the (World) Baseball Classic so he won’t be working with him all spring. If there is one man who can turn an outfielder into a second baseman that’s the guy — Oquendo. He’s good. Don’t be surprised if Schu does a good job at second base if it comes to that.”

Oquendo, the Cardinals third base coach, will manage Team Puerto Rico in the WBC, so time is fleeting for him to work one-on-one with so many of the infielders the Cardinals have in camp — from Schumaker to youngsters like Tyler Greene, who has impressed so far, and Brett Wallace, who put on a show in BP this morning.

That was part of the thinking for manager Tony La Russa as he plotted the workout schedule.

The plan, La Russa said this morning, is to have Schumaker work exclusively at second base during these early workouts and keep Mather exclusively at third base. That will be the drill at least until the games start — or until one or both show they need to switch back to being a full-time outfielder. They will get their fly ball work during batting practice, but otherwise they will be going through cram sessions at the Oquendo Academy.

The access to Oquendo wasn’t the only reason, wasn’t even the biggest reason, but it was a reason.

“That could be true, but if you think about it that adds some negativity that disrespects the guys who are going to stay back,” La Russa said. “I want to give Jose the respect and credit that he deserves, because he’s really, really good. But you don’t want to disrespect. (Joe) Pettini is right there with a lot of things that he does.”

Oquendo has been instrumental in recent years with the Cardinals insistence to move infielders around the diamond. It was Oquendo that worked with Aaron Miles at shortstop and Oquendo that got Brendan Ryan quickly up to speed at third base when injuries necessitated it. David Eckstein credited Oquendo with improving and enhancing the way he played shortstop, and Eckstein’s brother, coach Rick Eckstein, would spend days with the Cardinals just to soak up information from Oquendo about how to teach improved fundamentals in the field. One of the drills that Oquendo showed Rick Eckstein was laying out a fan of baseballs around the shortstop position and having the fielder work on the form and footwork that is needed to pluck the balls from the ground.

In springs past, one of the more interesting workouts to watch was Oquendo working with third baseman Scott Rolen. There was constant conversation. As Oquendo once explained he was learning as much about playing third from Rolen as he was teaching Rolen about playing the infield. That information was then past on to such then prospects as Travis Hanson and will now be passed on to current prospects like David Freese, Allen Craig and Wallace. One of the reasons the first-round pick Wallace is in major-league camp is to get first-hand interaction with the Cardinals’ coaches.

When Oquendo leaves, there are several coaches will assume his role with the infielders — starting with Pettini and including minor-league coaches Gaylen Pitts and Ron “Pop” Warner. Warner has developed a reputation in the minor leagues for being a go-to coach for infield fundamentals. He worked with Wallace late last season and throughout the Arizona Fall League.

Said La Russa of complications due to Oquendo’s departure: “We’ll be covered.”

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