King was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The left-hander will move off the major-league roster to make room for Sonny Gray (hamstring), who is returning from the injured list to make his season debut Tuesday. King appeared in two games for the Cardinals and allowed a run on three hits with a 4:0 K:BB over 2.1 innings.