Greenwood impresses, but optioned to Triple-A

ST. LOUIS -- To make room for Kevin Siegrist's activation from the disabled list, the Cardinals optioned Nick Greenwood to Triple-A Memphis, where the lefty will pitch out of the bullpen but also remain stretched out in case the club has a later need for a long reliever.

Greenwood earned himself more than a month-long stay during his first big league call-up because of his ability to cover multiple innings out of the 'pen. He went at least two innings in six of his nine appearances and covered more than three innings twice.

"Terrific impression," manager Mike Matheny said of Greenwood. "The conversation we had with him was, 'Nick, you have to realize what you did was not just coming in and filling in a spot. You bailed us out of some huge predicaments. You really impressed us every time we gave you a chance.' It was nice having that safety valve at the end. He was very resilient. He got outs. That's the bottom line."

Greenwood, 26, posted a 4.74 ERA over 19 innings. He positioned himself as a strong September call-up candidate if he is not summoned before then.