O'Neill's injuries make for disappointing spring

O'Neill hampered by injury JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny read the list of names in a businesnesslike tone, one after another, each a promising prospect, but none of them much of a surprise. Good young players flood big league camp each and every spring, and each and every spring, most eventually need to be reassigned. The realities of roster construction just make it so.

But when Matheny came to Tyler O'Neill, his voice changed. Earnestly disappointed, Matheny explained that O'Neill had been optioned to Triple-A Memphis, how his strained hamstring wasn't worth pushing. The club's No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, O'Neill entered camp with a chance to slug his way onto the…