Tyler Lyons optioned by St. Louis Cardinals

Tyler Lyons will not be breaking camp with the St. Louis Cardinals when they had north following the close of Spring Training. Instead, the left-handed pitcher will be heading north with the Memphis Redbirds. The move leaves the Cardinals with 33 roster players and 7 non-roster invitees in the big league camp.
Mar 17, 2014; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Tyler Lyons (70) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the fifth inning at JetBlue Park. The Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5. Image Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
There was a glimmer of hope that the southpaw would be joining the Cardinals as a left-handed pitching option in the rotation but it appears that the team will opt for an all-righty rotation at the start of the season. By starting the season with Memphis, Lyons will be pitching in their rotation.

There is still hope that Jaime Garcia will return and take his spot in the rotation but he won’t ever be the same pitcher that he used to be. He’s acknowledge as much in saying that he has to learn to pitch with pain.

With rotation spots locked in for Adam Wainwright, Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha, and Lance Lynn, the final spot is a battle between Joe Kelly and Carlos Martinez. Martinez currently has the edge after his performance against the Minnesota Twins yesterday.

Stephen Piscotty is hitting .357 this spring. Could he make the roster? I don’t know. I would think he starts out in Memphis. Piscotty is competing with Scott Moore in the finals for Survivor: Jupiter.

Natt Adams is focused in on his big chance to shine with the Cardinals.

On the Pete Kozma Trade Watch front, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports that the New York Mets are not interested in the Cardinals shortstop. One way or the other, Kozma will be off of the St. Louis Cardinals roster come Opening Day.

Over at CardinalsFarm, John takes a look at the race for National League Rookie of the Year. In prior years, many candidates had the chance to start on Opening Day in the major leagues but teams are now postponing their promotions of top prospects until after the Super Two deadline as they postpone arbitration by another season. Kolten Wong is an early favorite and it remains to be seen what will happen with Oscar Taveras.