MLB Player News

The Nationals purchased the contract of infielder Zach Walters from Triple-A Syracuse Tuesday. Walters was acquired from Arizona in July 2011. 

Walters has never played in a major league game and hit .253 with 29 homers and 77 RBI over 487 at-bats at Syracuse this year. 

The Dodgers recalled catcher Drew Butera, pitcher Stephen Fife, shortstop Dee Gordon, outfielder Scott Van Slyke and pitcher Peter Moylan from Triple-A Albuquerque Sunday.

The return of Willie Bloomquist after missing nearly two months with a broken bone in his hand has created a logjam at shortstop for Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson. Bloomquist's return means Gibson has a three-man rotation at shortstop, which also includes Didi Gregorius and Cliff Pennington.

"I’ll rotate the guys somewhat," Gibson said, per The Arizona Republic. "We didn’t score any runs (Friday) night, and I think Willie is probably the best shortstop we have, the most offensive. He puts the bat on the ball and allows us to do stuff."

The situation could even become more crowded if the Diamondbacks choose to bring up prospect Chris Owings, who was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A).

"He’s earned it, and he’s got a pretty good future ahead of him," Gibson said of Owings. "He’s going to fit in there somewhere, sometime, some way, somehow."

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada will draw the bulk of the playing time over Omar Quintanilla once he returns to the team in September, ESPN New York reports.

"He's going to play quite a bit when he gets here," manager Terry Collins said Friday. "We've got to find out what's going on. And we'd like to see how he handles some things right now, too, because I know he's probably saying to himself, 'I've got something to prove.'"

Tejada has hit .295/.347/.379 with one home run and 23 RBI in 255 at-bats for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford hit his eighth home run in Sunday's loss to Miami.

Crawford finished 2 for 4 with a walk, a single and the solo blast. He is hitting .274/.335/.401 with eight homers and 21 doubles, and it's easy to wonder how many of those doubles would be home runs if he didn't play in one of the toughest home parks for left-handed power hitters in San Francisco's AT&T Park.

The Dodgers have optioned shortstop Dee Gordon to Triple-A Albuquerque, MLB.com reports. In 25 games for Los Angeles, Gordon is hitting .208/.299/.273 with six stolen bases.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada is mired in a 4-for-52 slump for Triple-A Las Vegas, dropping his average to .257 in 37 games. Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday the reports on Tejada is he's hitting too many fly balls, and Collins speculated Tejada might be wearing down playing in the sweltering Vegas heat.

Collins suggested Tejada might have been back in the majors by now had he not suffered a prolonged slump, according to ESPN.

Diamondbacks infielder Cliff Pennington (foot) returned to action Saturday night against the Mets at Chase Field.

Pennington, who batted eighth, singled in the fifth inning for his only hit of the evening. He finished 1 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 4-1 defeat. He is hitting .239/.302/.304 with one home run and 17 RBI in 230 at-bats.

Diamondbacks infielder Cliff Pennington is back in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets, after missing four straight games with a foot injury. He is hitting eighth in the lineup.

Diamondbacks shortstop Cliff Pennington was held out of Friday's lineup against the Mets as he continues to be bothered by a foot injury.

Pennington was hit in the foot by a pitch Saturday and has not played since. He is hitting .239/.302/.305 with one home run and 17 RBI in 226 at-bats.