Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen is taking what the team called a “physical leave of absence” from the club, a departure that will allow him to remain engaged with the organization while freeing him up to be with his family as his wife, Nicole, continues her battle with cancer.

In Hazen’s absence, Assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye will oversee the club’s baseball operations department. Hazen will be available to “regularly consult” but for the time being won’t be around in person to the same extent as before.

Hazen said the reality of the situation isn’t “as alarming” as the news might suggest, saying Nicole is “doing OK” and “grinding along” as she fights glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Still, Hazen said he did not want to look up at some point over the summer and find himself in a situation where he was not giving all he needed to both his job and his wife and four sons. He said being physically present for all the demands of his job had become increasingly difficult in recent weeks, giving him the sense that he had reached an “inflection point.”

“At some point, we were coming to this decision,” Hazen said. “I tried to put it off as long as I could.”

Nicole Hazen, 44, received a glioblastoma diagnosis last July. It is said to be an incurable form of cancer with a typical life expectancy between one and two years.

Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said he and the club’s majority owner, Ken Kendrick, had broached the subject of Hazen stepping away during the offseason. Hall said they are glad Hazen has decided to do so, adding that Kendrick made the point that “one thing you’re not going to get back is time.”

“He needs his time with his boys right now,” Hall said. “He needs time with Nicole.

Hall added, “We haven’t talked about how long this will be. Who knows if it’s two months, if it’s six months, if it’s a year — whatever it takes for Mike and Nicole and the boys, we’re going to allow him that time and that space. And he’s still going to be intimately involved in every decision. This is still his roster, his ballclub, his minor league system and everyone is here to pitch in and help on the baseball side.”

Hazen said Sawdaye, who joined the organization shortly after Hazen was hired in the fall of 2016, has joked with him about how little will actually change under the new arrangement. Hazen will maintain the final word on all decisions and expects to be physically present for certain events, including the draft and trade deadline, both of which are next month.

“Amiel, (Assistant GM Mike Fitzgerald) and I talk 15 times a day to begin with,” Hazen said. “We just mostly do it in our offices or in our ballpark. And when (Amiel) is out on the scouting trail or Fitz is at an affiliate, then it happens over the phone, anyway. I would imagine all those things will allow this to continue in a certain way.”

Both Hazen and Hall mentioned the possibility of adding to the baseball operations staff to help carry the load.

Hazen said he met with the players and with coaches on Friday and informed others via email. He said he didn’t want to just “casually disappear” from his day-to-day in-person duties, particularly in a sport in which his presence is expected in certain situations, such as when a player is sent down to the minors.

Hazen said his sons have had “split” reactions to his decision, with two of the boys sort of rolling with the news while the other two — whom he described as “baseball rats” — being more engaged in the details of the situation.

“My oldest’s reaction was, ‘When are you going back?’” Hazen said of Charlie. “And I said, ‘I don’t know.’ He’s like, ‘You are going to go back at some point, right?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s going to be the plan.’ They understand. We’ve been dealing with this for a while now and they’ve taken such great care of their mom it’s unbelievable. But they love the Diamondbacks and they love baseball. That normalcy is important, I think, at a time like this, for everybody, for all of us.”