Barajas back; Rivera joins

A couple of notes to pass along before the second half of the season starts later tonight.

Rod Barajas has made his way back from the 15-day DL. Who's been sent down? You guessed it - Mr. A.J. Ellis. The guy has sort of made a career out of this. Unfortunately for him, he just can't show he's a good enough hitter to stick around. In 16 games, he's hitting .222 with no extra base hits. The good news is that he does have a .364 OBP, but on a team without any power, they don't need another singles hitter.

Barajas will slide right back into the starting catcher's role, as he provides some good pop with eight homers. He hit 17 between the Mets and Dodgers last year.

The other note is that Juan Rivera has been acquired over the All-Star break. Marcus Thames was shown the door. Rivera is two years removed from 25 homers, but that dipped to 15 last year and only six thus far. Thames showed he wasn't the answer (.197 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI), so it's worth a shot. Rivera can also play some first base, so look for some platooning, at least initially, between he and Loney. It's the latest attempt by the Dodgers to find any sort of spark on offense.