Alex

Castellanos

Castellanos was batting .379 with three home runs, 13 runs scored, four stolen bases and a 1.289 OPS in eight games before suffering the injury. Acquired from the Cardinals this summer in exchange for shortstop Rafael Furcal, he’s likely to open the 2012 season at the Double-A level.

Castellanos, 25, was acquired from the Cardinals last July in the Rafael Furcal deal. He began his career as an infielder, but played exclusively in the outfield last year. He has a .286/.350/.490 batting line over four seasons in the minors, but has yet to play above Double-A.

Castellanos, who was acquired from St. Louis in the Rafael Furcal deal, batted .320/.386/.573 with 23 homers, 85 RBI and a .958 OPS over 534 plate appearances this season at the Double-A level. He was pulled from the Arizona Fall League last month due to an oblique strain, but should be 100 percent for the start of spring training.

“He needs to keep playing,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters of the 25-year-old utilityman. “He’s played fearless up here, aggressive. He still has work to do and at times his swing gets long and they throw the ball by him.” Castellanos has tallied three hits and seven strikeouts in 21 MLB at-bats this season.

As expected, he’ll head down to the minors now that Juan Uribe is back from the disabled list. Castellanos went 3-for-21 (.143) with a triple and seven strikeouts during his first stint in the big leagues.

Expect Matt Kemp (hamstring) to head back to the disabled list in a corresponding move. Castellanos, 25, was acquired from the Cardinals last July in the Rafael Furcal deal. He’s been absolutely crushing the ball in New Mexico, posting a .379/.476/.759 triple slash. Castellanos has some defensive versatility and has played all three outfield spots and third base on the farm before shifting primarily to second base this year. We like the youngster’s bat. If he can procure consistent playing time for the Dodgers, he’ll become an immediate NL-only asset. Owners playing that format should head to the waiver wire right now.

The Dodgers had Castellanos play second base in Triple-A, but he’s only been used in the outfield since his recall and he committed an error today. With the way he’s slumping at the moment, he’ll probably see more of his at-bats go to Juan Rivera.

A.J. Ellis is also getting a routine day off. Alex Castellanos will play right field and Matt Treanor will start behind the plate Thursday afternoon against the Phillies.

He’ll take the place of Rubby De La Rosa on the active roster. Castellanos went 3-for-21 (.143) during his first stint with the Dodgers earlier this year.

Castellanos is 3-for-22 (.136) in two stints with the Dodgers this season. He’ll function as a right-handed bat off the bench down the stretch.