Scott Van Slyke, Stephen Fife among 5 Dodgers recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque

The Dodgers made their first wave of promotions on Sunday, adding five players from Triple-A Albuquerque on the first ay roster limits expand. The team recalled catcher Drew Butera, outfielder / first baseman Scott Van Slyke, infielder Dee Gordon, and pitcher Peter Moylan and Stephen Fife on Sunday.

Van Slyke has been up and down all season, shuttling between the Dodgers and the Isotopes. He is hitting .252/.331/.495 with six home runs and seven doubles in 38 games in his stints with the big club this season. Van Slyke, who turned 27 in July, hit .348/.479/.627 with 17 home runs in 61 games in Albuquerque. Though his potential role on the postseason roster is unclear, especially with the acquisition of Michael Young and the pending return of Matt Kemp, but Van Slyke against left-handed pitchers this season has hit .348/.453/.626 between Triple-A and the majors.

Fife, 26, was 4-3 with a 2.47 ERA in nine starts for the Dodgers this season, but fell victim to right shoulder bursitis that has sent him to the disabled list twice this season. Fife also suffered from having minor league options, getting sent back down to Triple-A after his latest DL stint even though he beat out Chris Capuano for the fifth starter role just before the All-Star break. Whether it was a brief stint in the Isotopes bullpen that threw him out of whack or his right shoulder acting up again, Fife has been a broken pitcher in the last three weeks, with 16 walks in 14 innings and a 10.29 ERA during that span in five appearances.

Gordon hit .297/.385/.390 in 92 games for Albuquerque and stole 49 bases in 60 attempts. But what was most impressive about Gordon's Triple-A season was his career-high 51 walks. After a career minor league walk rate of 6.5% of his plate appearances from 2008-2012, Gordon walked in 11.8% of his PA in 2013. Gordon, 25, also had nine walks in 88 plate appearances at the major league level, but hit just .208/.299/.273. He also made six errors in 20 games at shortstop with the Dodgers, and didn't see the field after making three errors in one game against the Rays on Aug. 11.

Butera was acquired from the Twins on July 31 for a player who was later named as 19-year-old Class-A Great Lakes pitcher Miguel Sulbaran. Butera, who turned 30 on Aug. 9, was 7-for-52 (.135) in 16 games with the Isotopes. He is more known for his defense, as his career line of .182/.230/.263 would imply. Butera gives the Dodgers a third catcher, allowing Tim Federowicz or A.J. Ellis to be used as a pinch hitter when not starting. Barring injury, Butera's first start might be after the Dodgers clinch the division.

Moylan was 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in 10 appearances with the Dodgers earlier this season. The Australian right-hander was 4-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 38 games for the Isotopes, with 45 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46 innings.