Richard Fitts: Everything you need to know

Triple-A Memphis placed Fitts on its 7-day injured list Monday due to a right lat strain. Fitts had gotten off to a nice start with Memphis this season, collecting a 1.76 ERA and 11:6 K:BB over 15.1 innings covering his first three outings. He likely would have been the first pitcher to get the call when the Cardinals needed help in the big-league rotation, but now that opportunity could fall to Hunter Dobbins (knee). Fitts is likely to be sidelined several weeks and perhaps longer, depending on the severity of the strain.

The Cardinals optioned Fitts to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday. Fitts' demotion signals that Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante have beaten him out in the camp competition for the final two spots in the Cardinals' Opening Day rotation. After being acquired from the Red Sox over the winter, Fitts had an uneven performance over his three Grapefruit League starts, posting a respectable 9:3 K:BB but allowing six earned runs on nine hits across 9.1 innings.

Fitts notched four strikeouts over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's exhibition game versus Team Nicaragua. Working in relief, Fitts surrendered four singles in his three frames, but he didn't walk anyone in addition to his four punchouts. His velocity remained up just as it was in his first Grapefruit League outing, as Fitts averaged 96.6 mph with his four-seamer and 96.2 mph with his sinker. The big righty has spun five scoreless innings between the two appearances while collecting a 5:0 K:BB. Fitts is competing for a spot in the Cardinals' rotation, and that the team is mulling a six-man setup, at least initially, helps his odds.