St. Louis Cardinals Option Tyler Lyons to Triple-A Memphis, Recall Greg Garcia
In an exact reversal of the move they made 16 days ago, the St. Louis Cardinals have optioned lefthanded pitcher Tyler Lyons to Triple-A Memphis while recalling infielder Greg Garcia. The two players had initially been swapped for each other back on August 7.
Lyons’ demotion couldn’t possibly have been a reflection of his performance in the majors over his last stint, as he threw 7.2 scoreless innings of relief over three appearances, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out four. Lyons will almost certainly be back when rosters expand to a 40-player maximum on September 1. He’s also positioning himself as a potential replacement for Randy Choate in the Cardinals’ bullpen next season. Though Lyons has been inconsistent as a starter, he now has a 0.85 career ERA with an 0.916 WHIP over 14 relief appearances spanning 31.2 innings. He’s also holding lefties to a .223 average, compared to a .260 split against righthanded hitters.
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Garcia, meanwhile, will return to the Cardinals’ bench, where he’s succeeded whenever he’s been given an opportunity this season. Over 20 at-bats, Garcia is batting .350/.435/.600 with a homer and a very memorable walk-off walk. He’s seen action at second base, third base, and shortstop, and really his best purpose on the roster is to be available so that the Cardinals never have to start Pete Kozma, who is serviceable as a defensive replacement and pinch runner but has gone 13-for-83 (.157) with no extra-base hits this season.
Since the Cardinals have nine straight games and no off days until rosters expand, it may be a challenge to operate with a seven-man bullpen until then, but guys like Carlos Villanueva who can go multiple innings should be able to carry them the rest of the way.