MLB Player News

Cardinals prospect Ryan Jackson added three more hits on Tuesday to raise his average to .372 through 31 games for Triple-A Memphis. He also has 11 RBI and a .487 slugging percentage.

The 25-year-old would be one of the first infielders called up to the majors if a spot opened up, MLB.com reports.

"He really took a great attitude with him when he was sent down," manager Mike Matheny said of Jackson, who has played second, third and short for Memphis this year. "He realizes he's right there. Where Pete Kozma was a year ago, he's even ahead of that in the fact that he's taking real advantage of the opportunity he has there. He's done a real good job."

Mets manager Terry Collins gave shortstop Ruben Tejada a day of rest Tuesday night against the Cardinals.

Tejada has been struggling, hitting just .190 in the first 10 games of May. He has gone hitless in his last nine at-bats. Justin Turner took his place in the lineup against left-hander John Gast.

"He's one of the other guys that's really been struggling lately," Collins said. "And I want to get J.T. in there. We've got one guy hitting .350. We've got to try to find him some at-bats.

"Hopefully [Daniel] Murphy is breaking out. I wanted to play Ike (Davis). There's only one other spot to go for right now, and that was at shortstop."

Diamondbacks infielder Cliff Pennington, who struck out in his only at-bat as a pinch-hitter Sunday during a loss to Philadelphia, is batting just .210 this season entering Monday's games. Pennington has only started twice in the last six games and wasn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta, either. 

Pennington has seen just 17 at-bats over seven appearances and five starts in May. He's gone 4 for 17 (.235) over that stretch with a homer and six RBI. Josh Wilson and Martin Prado are seeing most of the starts at second base over Pennington. 

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he could take a page out of former skipper Tony La Russa's playbook and use shortstop Dee Gordon as the No. 9 hitter once Mark Ellis returns from the disabled list, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Gordon has spent the past two games in the two-spot, which is Ellis' usual position with Carl Crawford at leadoff.

Mattingly said the move would be spearheaded by his preference to alternate between left-handed and right-handed batters at the top of the lineup. Gordon recorded his fourth steal in eight games Sunday against the Marlins.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had his third-straight, mulit-hit game Sunday against the Braves. Crawford had two singles in the 5-1 win, including one in the fourth inning that drove in Brandon Belt. He finished 2 for 3 with an RBI and walk.

After going through a rough stretch in late April and early May, Crawford appears to be heating up. He has hit safely in six-straight games and is batting .455 (10 for 22) with three doubles and two RBI over that stretch.

Red Sox infielder Pedro Ciriaco entered Sunday 's game against the Blue Jays as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning -- making his first big league appearance at first base. He highlighted the moment with a home run leading off the eighth inning, which was his first since Aug. 26.

Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon blasted his first home run of the season -- and just the second of his brief career -- during Los Angeles' 7-1 rout of Miami on Saturday night. Playing in his seventh game since being promoted from Triple-A, Gordon went 1 for 4 with a walk as he assumed the No. 2 spot in the batting order for the second time in the past four outings.

We have not checked in with Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford in a while, so let's see how he is doing since his hot start.

On April 24, the date of our last update on Crawford, he was batting .320 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 22 games. In 11 games since, Crawford is batting just .125, with 11 strikeouts in 40 at-bats. Yikes.

Crawford was clearly playing over his head through the first four weeks of the season, and he is clearly mired in a deep slump right now. Given his career .632 on-base plus slugging percentage entering the year, it is no surprise that he has proven incapable of keeping up his hot start. The question now is: How low will he go?

Fantasy owners entered the season with low expectations for Crawford, so a few weeks of solid production was a pleasant surprise. But it obviously did not establish a new baseline for the previously punchless shortstop. Now that it's over, I would not hang on to him outside of deeper Fantasy formats. 

Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks left Tuesday's game against Minnesota following a collision with catcher David Ross on a Chris Parmalee foul ball, WEEI.com reports. Middlebrooks initially remained in the game but was replaced in the top of the seventh by Pedro Ciriaco. 

Middlebrooks left with what the Red Sox deemed "right side pain." He was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and is batting .192 on the year with six home runs. 

Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBI during Los Angeles' 10-9 loss to San Francisco on Saturday night. Gordon, who earned the start at short in his season debut with the Dodgers, also scored twice and recorded two stolen bases.

The 25-year-old speedster also showcased his maturation at the plate as he prepares for the majority of starts at short with Hanley Ramirez sidelined. Gordon drew a four-pitch walk in the fourth inning, highlighting his improved plate discipline that had been an issue for him last year. He drew just 20 walks in 87 games with Los Angeles last season, but had walked 14 times in 25 games with Triple-A Albuquerque this year.

"He has shown progression from the standpoint of the takes and when he takes you can tell he's starting to understand who he is and what he needs to do and obviously when he gets on base he's just a force," manager Don Mattingly told the Los Angeles Daily News. "You can do so many things with him and he puts the defense at such a disadvantage. I don't want to go too far in one game, but he's getting better."