MLB Player News

Cardinals shortstop Ryan Jackson is in the mix for playing time, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The 25-year-old Jackson hit .278, with a .352 on-base percentage at Triple-A Memphis. He's struggled over the second half, hitting just .221. Jackson will spell Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso occasionally, and could work his way to a bigger role if he plays well.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson called out shortstop Ruben Tejada for a lack of work ethic, according to the Star-Ledger . 

Tejada is expected to receive a lot of playing time this month, but needs to show the team he's willing to work hard. "Extra batting practice, extra this, extra that, doesn’t happen unless someone else is insisting on it. And that’s what we need to see. We need to see a commitment to improvement," Alderson said. Alderson said Tejada was given a full-time role early in his career,and it's tough for him to have to earn that spot now.

Tejada is hitting .209/.267/.262 in 187 at-bats. 

The Diamondbacks purchased the contract of shortstop Chris Owings from Triple-A Reno. He batted .330/.359/.482 with 12 homers and 81 RBI in 546 at-bats in the minors.

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.