LOS ANGELES -- The first player added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster by new president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is minor league infielder Ryan Jackson, who was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the Padres on Monday.
Jackson, who will be 27 in May, played only 11 games in the minors in 2014, hitting .200 (7-for-35) with five walks between Triple-A El Paso and rookie level Arizona League, missing four months with a right wrist injury that required surgery.
In six minor league seasons Jackson has a 9.4-percent walk rate and hit .268/.338/.363 with 104 doubles and 27 home runs in 576 games. He has played mostly shortstop in his career — with 508 of his 573 games in the field at the position — but has also seen time at second base and third base.
Jackson was drafted by the Cardinals in the fifth round in 2009 out of the University of Miami and played in 20 major league games with St. Louis in 2012 and 2013, going 2-for-24 (.083) with a walk and five strikeouts. He was claimed off waivers by the Astros last November, then traded to the Padres for Jesus Guzman in December.
Jackson, who has 118 days of major league service time, has one option year remaining, having been optioned in 2013 by St. Louis and in 2014 by San Diego. Jackson was also optioned in 2012 but only for six days so - because he was optioned for a total of less than 20 days during the season - it didn't count as an option used.
He was named the best defensive infielder in the Cardinals' system in 2011 and 2012 by Baseball America.
"He's got a solid defensive reputation, featuring decent range and arm strength, excellent instincts, and outstanding reliability," John Sickels at Minor League Ball wrote of the then-prospect Jackson in January 2013. "Although he doesn't have super-amazing range, he makes the plays he needs to make and there's no doubt about his ability to play shortstop regularly from a defensive perspective."
With Jackson, the Dodgers' 40-man roster now has 36 players.
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In a pair of transactions involving old friends also on Monday, the Padres designated pitcher Eric Stults for assignment and the Rays did the same with outfielder Jerry Sands.