St. Louis Cardinals Recall Tyler Lyons from Triple-A Memphis, Option Greg Garcia
The St. Louis Cardinals made a roster move prior to the beginning of their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, recalling lefthanded pitcher Tyler Lyons from Triple-A Memphis while sending down utility infielder Greg Garcia.
The 27-year-old Lyons has occupied a swingman role in each of his first two seasons at the major-league level, and he’s expected to fill the relief portion of that dual role now, provided that there are no injuries to any Cardinals starters that have yet to be disclosed. In six starts with the Cardinals earlier this season, Lyons had a 5.02 ERA, a .294 opponent batting average, and a 1.64 WHIP. His performance was actually better than the numbers indicated, however, as he had two straight impressive starts against the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies in which he collected the win, then came back up for a doubleheader spot start against the Chicago Cubs on July 7 and was able to deliver 5.2 solid innings while giving up three earned runs. Though he was able to get out of most of the high-pressure situations, his performance in that game didn’t exactly do wonders for his WHIP, as he allowed five walks and seven hits.
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Now, Lyons will be on hand to provide extended innings along with righty Carlos Villanueva, who has acted as a long relief option for the Cardinals all season long. The Cards had been lacking a second pitcher who was comfortable going multiple innings since the acquisition of former closer Jonathan Broxton forced Miguel Socolovich to the minors last week.
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Since Lyons has held lefthanded hitters to a .209 average over the course of his three-season major-league career, he could also compliment Randy Choate as a lefty-killer against a Milwaukee Brewers lineup that currently features lefthanded hitters Adam Lind, Scooter Gennett, and Logan Schaefer as regulars. In 24.0 career innings as a reliever, Lyons has a 1.13 ERA, a .190 opponent batting average, and a 0.917 WHIP.
Garcia was sent down after going 0-for-3 with a walk in just his second start of the season on Thursday afternoon. Ultimately, Garcia was the victim of circumstance more than anything, as the Cardinals needed to add some extra bullpen depth and obviously remain committed to keeping backup infielder Pete Kozma, he of the .158 batting average and .396 OPS, on the major-league roster. The 25-year-old Garcia, who is hitting .350/.435/.600 in 20 big-league at-bats this season, will almost certainly be back with the Cardinals when roster expand on September 1, if not before then.
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