ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Darryl Strawberry won't join the St. Paul Saints this summer to do community relations work because of his battle with cancer, the team's owner said.

Majority owner Marvin Goldklang said he talked with the agent for the suspended New York Yankees' slugger on Wednesday. The two discussed medical test results for Strawberry, the Pioneer Press reported, but Goldklang declined to be specific about Strawberry's condition.

"Darryl is dealing with a very serious medical condition," Goldklang said. "At this point, we're not even thinking about what he may or may not do for the Saints. Darryl might be in the hospital the rest of the summer."

Strawberry, 39, had colon cancer diagnosed in October 1998 and underwent successful chemotherapy. He revealed last month there was a recurrence, this time in his lymph nodes.

Strawberry is serving a one-year ban from major league baseball for drug abuse, the third drug-related suspension of his career. He wrote commissioner Bud Selig several weeks to ask that the year-long ban be cut short.